Marian McPartland: Not just "Piano Jazz"
The outbreak of World War II led McPartland to become employed doing what she loved most: performing. In 1940, she joined the ENSA (Entertainment National Service Association) to avoid getting drafted into the women’s army. With that, she played around the world for soldiers, but her love of American jazz was more prevalent then ever. She joined the American USO (United Service Organization) in 1944 for greater opportunities such as playing with American musicians. While with the USO, McPartland had to learn various instruments such as the accordion, as each base they traveled to had limited instruments accessible. While in Belgium, McPartland met husband Jimmy McPartland, who in the words of Marian, “went out to somebody’s house, some people that had been branded as traitors, and removed the piano and put it on a truck and brought it over for me” (line 211). After the war ended in 1946 and Jimmy and Marian concluded their performances for troops, they moved to Chicago where Jimmy helped Marian make her mark in the jazz world.
With support from Jimmy, Marian went on to create her own trio called The Embers. In a male dominated jazz world, Jimmy proved to be vital in gaining Marian opportunities and allowed her to make her debut. In 1969, she founded Halcyon records as she was tired of the rock music influx in the jazz scene and wanted her to music to be heard. She said in her interview with Monk Rowe, “… I remember saying oh the hell with it; I’m going to make my own damn record. And I did. That’s when I started with Halcyon” (Lines 447-449). After years of recording, McPartland went on to start her own radio show in 1979 entitled Piano Jazz, which was recognized as the longest running show on NPR. There, she got to interview various musicians and play live with them on air.
The success of Piano Jazz accounts for a large amount of McPartland’s fame, but her music and passion were far from lackluster. In her late career she won piles of awards such as a Grammy, Peabody award and inductions into the National Radio Hall of Fame as well as being named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. Her list of achievements goes on and on. Her passion was proved by her desire to keep performing into her 90s before she died in 2013 of natural causes. Her legacy continues to live on and she has proven to be an inspiration to not only women, but all involved in the music world.
