Monday, March 22, 2010

for marian mcpartland (8)


for marian mcpartland
1918 --

flexible, complex, impossible to pigeon-hole
is what some say of yr musical style. like the song,
i might say, u really are “too marvelous for words” –-
a prodigy still at ninety-two. u made leonard
feather very wrong about that tall, laughing chick who
was english, white &… a girl. three deadly strikes, he said,
limiting yr success in new york & the jazz world
at large. but u found a nest in the hickory house
with its high ceilings, oval bar & cozy bandstand,
& learned yr craft from a nightly procession of stars
who came to hear u; play with u -- ellington, hawkins,
shaw, goodman, strayhorn, even oscar peterson,
teaching u, growing u up & loving u madly.

©Joseph McNair;2010

1 comment:

  1. Marian McPartland a great Pianist & an unstoppable stalwart, who's still going strong. Great tribute Joe!

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