Marian McPartland, RIP -- August 23, 2013

I have spent much of my adult life listening to Marian McPartland's program Piano Jazz on public radio stations, first KQED-FM and then KCSM.  I learned a lot about music from her.  I also thought of her as a living link to Bix Beiderbecke, since her husband Jimmy had taken over as lead cornettist of the Wolverines after Bix moved on. 

Jimmy served in the US Army during World War II and took part in the invasion of Normandy.  He met British pianist Marian Turner in Belgium and they married.  They played together and apart, before and after they divorced in 1970. 

Marian hosted Piano Jazz from 1978 until 2011.  She played duets with everyone.