For those of you who listened to my NPR Piano Jazz show this past week, thank you for your comments and letters! I recorded the show back on May 18, at Manhattan Beach Studios in New York City.
As my pianist friend Daryl Sherman says, the 88 year old Marian McPartland is "one of the wonders of the world." Marian's graciousness put me at ease immediately, and I was able to relax enough to forget that we were recording a nationally broadcast radio show.
Those of you who are familiar with my playing know that I am not a jazz musician, so before recording Marian's show, i felt a little like the proverbial fish out of water. My husband, who is indeed a jazzer, says that my music is jazz-influenced, which I suppose is true. But it's classically influenced, as well.
Marian summed it up best, I think, when she said, "Oh, it's all just music, isn't it?" Well, right Marian. I've been around enough jazz and classical purists (some might call them snobs) in my life to really appreciate an accomplished musician who has big ears for everything. To find this quality in a woman of Marian's age is also remarkable. No wonder she seems so young.
Here's how the show with Marian came about. Backbeat, publisher of "Piano Girl," sent Marian a copy of the book. Marian called me personally and invited me to be on the show, a telephone call that darn near resulted in me falling down in a dead faint. "Marian," i said, "I'm not a jazz musician. Not even close." "Who cares?" she replied. "I love your book."
At the end of the three hour recording session, producer Shari Hutchinson asked me to record a couple of Christmas songs for use on the NPR Jazz Christmas CD with Marian McPartland and Friends. I did. The CD is now available and includes one of my compositions for the holiday season, called Magic in the Night.
I received a comp copy of the CD last week, and I'm stunned by the jazz celebrity status of the other artists on the recording. Marian herslef, Susannah McCorkle, Blossom Dearie, Michel Camilo, Billy Childs, Bil Charlap. Then there's me. On a jazz CD.
