Jimmy & Marion McPartland - Play TV Themes (Remastered) (1960)

Always a classic. Poeple that remember Jimmy at the Blue Note club or Marion at the Caryle or on her show should have this classic

A solid Dixieland cornetist with his own lyrical sound (initially influenced by Bix Beiderbecke), Jimmy McPartland played the music he loved for over 60 years. The younger brother of guitarist Dick McPartland (1905-1957), Jimmy was a member of the legendary Austin High School Gang in the 1920s. He was Bix Beiderbecke's replacement with the Wolverines during 1925, joined Ben Pollack's band in 1927, and recorded with the McKenzie & Condon's Chicagoans during their famous session. McPartland was one of the main soloists (along with Benny Goodman) with Pollack and he stayed with the band into 1929. He then moved to Chicago, working steadily through the 1930s. While stationed overseas during World War II (1942-1944), he met his future wife, English pianist Marian Turner. McPartland freelanced at Dixieland sessions during the next four decades, working with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, and other Chicago jazz veterans and often leading his own band. Although eventually divorced from Marian McPartland, they were still close friends and occasionally played together, remarrying just a few weeks before Jimmy McPartland's death two days short of his 84th birthday. Many of his best early recordings were collected on an MCA two-LP set in the 1970s. In addition, he recorded as a leader for Harmony, Prestige, MGM, Grand Award, Jazztone, Epic, Mercury, RCA, Design, Jazzology, Halcyon (Marian's label), and Riff. ~ Scott Yanow
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Marian McPartland became famous for hosting her Piano Jazz radio program beginning in 1978, but she was a well-respected pianist decades before. She played in a four-piano vaudeville act in England and performed on the European continent for the troops during World War II. In Belgium in 1944, she met cornetist Jimmy McPartland and they soon married. Marian moved with her husband to the United States in 1946, where she sometimes played with him even though her style was more modern than his Dixieland-oriented groups. McPartland eventually had her own trio at the Embers (1950) and the Hickory House (1952-1960), which until 1957 included drummer Joe Morello. She recorded regularly for Savoy and Capitol during the 1950s and also made sessions for Argo (1958), Time (1960 and 1963), Sesac, and Dot. Although eventually divorced from Jimmy, they remained close friends, sometimes played together, and even remarried just weeks before his death. She formed her own Halcyon label and recorded several fine albums between 1969-1977. McPartland also made three albums for Tony Bennett's Improv label during 1976-1977 before signing with Concord, where she remained after 1978. The Jazz Alliance label has made available over 30 CDs' worth of material from Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz show, some of which are quite fascinating and significant. McPartland died in August 2013 at her home in Port Washington, New York; she was 95 years old. ~ Scott Yanow