”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Marian McPartland. Captured before an intimate crowd of fans and students in Long Island, New York, the 18-track At the Peninsula Library 1972 will arrive April 11 on 180-gram vinyl LP, CD and download. All formats will be distributed by MVD Entertainment Group (USA) and Wienerworld (UK). A pre-order is available now at Bandcamp.
British-born McPartland (Margaret Marian Turner, 1918-2013) was a trailblazer in the music business. In 1944, while performing for Allied forces in Europe during World War II, she met and married famed Chicago cornetist
Jimmy McPartland
cornet
1907 – 1991
”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Jimmy McPartland. The pianist performed as part of her husband’s jazz sextet for the remainder of the war years. She then went on to record over 40 albums for various labels including Savoy Records, Capitol Records, Concord Records, and her own independent imprint, Halcyon Records. In the late 1960s, McPartland broadened her commitment to jazz by becoming an album reviewer for DownBeat Magazine. Her jazz advocacy and diverse skill set eventually led to her creating and hosting National Public Radio’s “Piano Jazz.” From 1978-2011, McPartland interviewed and played with countless luminaries on “Piano Jazz,” including
Elvis Costello
vocals
b.1954
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data-original-title=”” title=””>Elvis Costello,
”
data-original-title=”” title=””>Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Sondheim, and
Tony Bennett
vocals
1926 – 2023
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data-original-title=”” title=””>Tony Bennett. McPartland died at the age of 95 in her home in Port Washington, New York on August 20, 2013.
In December 2024, McPartland appeared in a New York Times remembrance of Art Kane’s “Harlem 1958” photograph which featured a group portrait of 57 jazz notables posed in front of an East 126th Street brownstone in New York City. McPartland was one of only three female performers in the famous 1958 photograph.
At the Peninsula Library 1972 was recorded on December 10. The 78-minute concert set features McPartland on piano, accompanied by her regular sidemen, bassist Rusty Gilder and drummer
. Songs include such mid-century standards as “Stella by Starlight,” “A Night in Tunisia” and “Satin Doll,” alongside contemporaneous fare like “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “Fire and Rain” and “The Summer of ’42 Theme.” Liner notes for the package are by jazz scholars Barry Singer and Paul de Barros. De Barros is the author of
, published by the University of South Carolina Press.