Marian McPartland

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Marian McPartland was a jazz pianist who helped elevate the scope of a series of jazz radio shows called Piano Jazz, which ran on PBS from 1978 until 2011. Marian began playing piano as a teenager and went on to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She toured around Europe during World War II, playing for Allied troops and showcasing her skills as a jazz artist. She later married jazzman Jimmy McPartland and recorded with many of the jazz giants of the 1950s and 60s including Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, and Terry Gibbs.