Marian McPartland, a Living Jazz Piano Legend - 89 and Going Strong!

I was fortunate enough to hear and meet Marian years ago in the St. Louis area and was blown away.  Such a kind, intelligent, TALENTED, interesting woman who has met and performed with virtually anybody who IS anybody in jazz.  I don't get to hear her NPR show nearly as often as I'd like, but I highly recommend you find it in your area, or check it out on her website - there are a few streaming episodes there now.

Better yet, see her live - still performing regularly!

http://www.npr.org/programs/pianojazz/marian_sked.html

technorati tags:jazz, piano, marian, mcpartland

Ramsey Lewis: Brilliant, Pop "Sellout" or Both?!

A CAREER IN FULL - Chicago Tribune

Here's an interesting article about Ramsey Lewis, whose jazz reputation may have suffered at the hands of his early pop success with "The In Crowd." However, no one can argue that his jazz playing is top notch, and if you haven't seen his PBS show "Legends of Jazz" on the tube or DVD/CD yet, it is a must for any serious fan/student of jazz.

A CAREER IN FULL Chicago Tribune, IL - 53 minutes ago This combination of a rock-solid technique and a propulsive ability to swing evokes a long line of jazz-piano gods, from Art Tatum (the greatest of all) to ... RAMSEY'S RHYTHMS Chicago Tribune all 2 news articles

technorati tags:jazz, piano, ramsey, lewis