Piano Jazz Shorts

Being a legendary drummer was only part of Max Roach's musical personality; he was also an accomplished composer and storyteller. On this 1998 Piano Jazz, Roach (1924 – 2007) relates a few of his many musical memories from performing with greats like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie. He treats listeners to a selection of his own compositions. Roach, McPartand, and bassist Ray Drummond collaborate on "I'll Remember Clifford" and "Joy of Spring."

Pianist Eric Mintel is on a mission to bring jazz to the masses. His playing is straight-ahead but energetic, lyrical, and always swinging. With his quartet, he has engaged audiences at the White House, The Kennedy Center, and venues around the country. On this Piano Jazz from 2005, Mintel talks about improvisation and the art of getting gigs before sitting down with host McPartland for "These Foolish Things."

Jazz pianist Art Hodes (1904 – 1993) was born in Ukraine and moved to the United States with his family as a baby. While he got his start as a musician in Chicago, his big break came when he moved to New York in 1938 and played with Joe Marsala and Mezz Mezzrow. In the 1950s, he returned to Chicago, where he remained active on the jazz scene as a performer, educator, and writer. On this 1984 Piano Jazz, Hodes plays "St. Louis Blues" and "Someone to Watch Over Me."

Trumpeter and cornetist Ruby Braff (1927– 2003) drew his style from the influences of Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. Throughout the 1950s, he was in demand in New York as a Dixieland and swing player, and he went on to form a quartet with guitarist George Barnes and other small-group settings later in his career. On this 1992 Piano Jazz, Braff joins McPartland for duets of "Thou Swell" and "Blue and Sentimental" as well as an added tune "White Christmas" recorded during the session but not used in the original program.

On this 2006 Piano Jazz Holiday Special, host Marian McPartland takes a look back at some favorite Christmas and holiday songs performed on the show throughout the years. Melissa Walker sings "The Moon on Christmas Eve," written by Kathryn Williams and Vana Gerig, who stop by to talk about the song's genesis. Pianist Cleo Brown evokes the style of Duke Ellington as she plays the traditional Christmas hymn "Silent Night."

Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen has built a strong reputation among critics and peers, and McPartland praised the warmth and virtuosity of her playing. Her performances as a leader and featured soloist have taken her around the world, and she can be heard as a soloist with the Christine Jensen Orchestra, her own quartet and quintet formations, and a number of other New York-based bands. Jensen is McPartland's guest on this 2000 Piano Jazz, with musical selections including "A Child Is Born" and "Chelsea Bridge."

Hilton Ruiz (1952 – 2006) was a jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban and bebop styles. Born to Puerto Rican parents in New York, he became known as a child prodigy and as a teenager gigged professionally, working primarily with Latin music groups. Ruiz went on to work with major jazz artists like Frank Foster, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, and Joe Newman. On this 1988 Piano Jazz, Ruiz solos on his own composition "Home Coming" and duets with McPartland on "I'll Remember April."

Patricia Barber is a pianist and singer solidly grounded in the jazz idiom while eclectic in her style. She recorded a series of albums, each establishing a wider audience for her music. In 2002 she released her album Verse to much critical acclaim. That year, she was also McPartland's guest on Piano Jazz. In this session, Barber performs her original song "If I Were Blue," and McPartland joins her for "Autumn Leaves."

Seventy years after Django Reinhardt's Quintette du Hot Club de France fused Gypsy guitar with the jazz of the day, a new incarnation emerged in the Motor City. The Hot Club of Detroit is Evan Perri on lead guitar, Julien Labro on accordion, Carl Cafagna on soprano and tenor sax, Paul Brady on rhythm guitar, and Andrew Kratzat on bass. The music the Hot Club of Detroit plays for this 2009 Piano Jazz session ranges from traditional Gypsy jazz on "Coquette" to the bal musette waltz "Passions."

Bop pianist George Wallington (1924 – 1993) was born in Sicily and moved to the United States with his family in the 1920s. He became a part of the New York music scene in the 1940s and played with greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, and Lionel Hampton. In 1960 he retired from music, but he reemerged in 1984. As a guest on this 1985 Piano Jazz, Wallington performs his composition "Godchild."

Pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill is the son of the late Chico O'Farrill (1921 – 2001). A multiple Grammy winner, he has contributed to contemporary Latin jazz as leader of the Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra and as the founder of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. On this 2002 Piano Jazz, O'Farrill performs "Dandon Don Vasquez." He and McPartland expand on the Latin theme with a duet of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave."

Bertha Hope's contributions to mainstream and improvised musical idioms have made her one of the elite among her peers. Wife of the pianist Elmo Hope (1923 – 1967), Bertha has kept their extraordinary teamwork alive through her highly regarded trio and personal performances. In this Piano Jazz session from 1991, Hope performs "In Search of Hope" and McPartland joins for a duet of "I'm Beginning to See the Light."

Guitarist Kenny Burrell has been called a "cool, controlled romantic" whose textured playing is "subtle yet sensual, meditative, exultant, wry, and intimate." He may well be one of the most lyrical guitarists on the jazz scene. In fact, he was Duke Ellington's favorite improviser on the guitar. Burrell delights on this 1993 Piano Jazz with a solo of "'Round Midnight." He joins McPartland for "Don't Worry 'bout Me."

Skitch Henderson (1918 – 2005) worked as a piano soloist on Frank Sinatra's and Bing Crosby's radio shows. He began a long-time association with NBC in 1951, appearing as pianist, conductor, leader, and even comedian on The Tonight Show with host Steve Allen. In 1962, he began as conductor of the orchestra for The Tonight Show with host Johnny Carson. On this 1992 episode of Piano Jazz, Henderson plays one of his own compositions, the theme song from the film Act 1.

Multi-instrumentalist Corky Hale has been blazing trails since her career began. She started piano at three, harp at eight, flute at ten, and cello at twelve. In the late 1950s, she became Mel Tormé's pianist and teamed up with Billie Holiday in Las Vegas and LA. On this Piano Jazz from 1993, Hale performs "Yesterdays" on the harp with Herb Michman joining on bass. She duets with McPartland on "Tea for Two."