Marian McPartland Collection | ETV Classics

April 25, 2025
Marian McPartland Collection

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Jazz pianist Marian McPartland performed professionally since the 1930s, at clubs and concert halls around the globe and on scores of recordings. To millions of radio listeners, she is also the host of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, the popular Peabody Award-winning National Public Radio series, which has celebrated more than 30 years on the air. Marian McPartland hosted Piano Jazz from 1978 until her retirement in 2011. An advocate for jazz in the schools, Marian McPartland mentored many. She died in 2013 at 95. NPR retired the show in 2018.

Art’s the Thing! with Marian McPartland (1984) 

This sparkling episode of Art's the Thing! opens with Marian McPartland playing Mercer Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used To Be." Host Beryl Dakers congratulates Marian and Piano Jazz for winning the coveted Peabody Award.

Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz with Bobby Short (1986) 

In this joy-filled ETV Classics special, Piano Jazz (1986) comes to television, as Marian McPartland welcomes the king of cabaret singers, Bobby Short.

McPartland and Brubeck: A Piano Jazz Special (2001) 

In this ETV Classic gem from the tape vault, Marian McPartland welcomes her audience and introduces Dave Brubeck to enthusiastic applause! Brubeck talks briefly about the new things happening in his life, then the duo on their facing pianos launches into Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way.” 

Marian McPartland: A Portrait of Rachel Carson (2007) 

Premiere of A Portrait of Rachel Carson performed by the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra with Dr. Donald Portnoy conducting and Marian McPartland performing her composition written to honor Rachel Carson. 

The Big Picture with Marian McPartland (2007) 

Today on The Big Picture, host Andrew Gobeil introduces Marian McPartland as she prepares to premiere her composition, “A Portrait of Rachel Carson,” with the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra. Before the premiere, Marian holds a Master Class with musicians from the USC School of Music. She invited students to come up and play with her in the two-piano format of the long running NPR series Piano Jazz. 

Marian McPartland: First Lady of Jazz (2012) 

Jazz pianist Marian McPartland performed professionally since the 1930s, at clubs and concert halls around the globe and on scores of recordings. To millions of radio listeners, she is also the host of Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, the popular Peabody Award-winning National Public Radio series, which has celebrated more than 30 years on the air.  

Connie Robinette
Connie Robinette
Writer and tape librarian for South Carolina ETV's vault.
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