Recorded in July 1970
Marian McPartland hosted Piano Jazz on National Public Radio (NPR) from 1978 to 2011, and it made her one of the most widely recognized names in jazz. (The show is still the longest-running cultural program to ever air on NPR.) Ironically, the program had the paradoxical effect of making it easy to take McPartland's artistry for granted. Her amicable, easy-going on-air persona can come off as someone who's primarily a "media personality," rather than a dedicated artist. I know that I made that mistake -- until I started listening closely to her music.
McPartland's Ambiance precedes her involvement with Piano Jazz by nearly a decade, and her profile was much lower at that time. From 1953 to 1962, McPartland had hosted a trio at the Hickory House in Manhattan. The personnel in trio varied, but the most famous incarnation featured bassist Bill Crow and drummer Joe Morello. After the Hickory House engagement ended, McPartland work briefly with Benny Goodman. But her modern playing style was off-putting to Goodman, so the gig didn't last long. In the latter half of the 1960s, as work became more difficult for McPartland to find, she expanded her activities to include jazz education, music reviewing (for Downbeat, 1966 to 1969), and a first foray into radio in 1966 with a program called A Delicate Balance. (McPartland subsequently gave one of her LPs this same title.) Finding little or no opportunities to record her music, McPartland also made the decision to form her own music label, Halcyon Records, in partnership with Sherman Fairchild and Hank O'Neal.
McPartland's first Halcyon release, Interplay (recorded 1969; released 1970), is a duo LP with bassist Linc Millman. For those who are only familiar with McPartland's subsequent Concord recordings, the intensity and freedom of this music may come as a surprise. McPartland was incorporating elements of the avant-garde into her music, and this trend continued on her second Halcyon release, Ambiance.
Even more than Interplay, Ambiance stands apart from most of McPartland's discography for its freedom. But, for all its freedom, this music isn't difficult; even when it's "out," the music is suffused with a relaxed lyricism and beauty. McPartland wrote the album's liner notes, and I'd like to quote them at length, because I think she articulates the appeal of this music more eloquently than I ever could.
"We all felt very relaxed in the intimate setting of Sherman Fairchild's house. Sherman himself supervised the date in a casual, easy-going way, looking in on us every now and then to see how we were doing, making encouraging observations about the music as he heard the various playbacks.
It was a sheer pleasure listening to each other, exchanging ideas, getting outside, and inside of each piece -- everything we did seemed to come off well.
To me, playing this freely means discipline, and empathy with the other players, so that no one 'takes over.' Sometimes I might draw the thread of an idea from Mike, and interweave it into a pattern of my own, relinquishing it to Jimmy when he starts a contrasting rhythmic figure, so that there is a constant shift of emphasis and a flowing through of ideas from one to another.
Mike thought that everyone played quite differently on this session. 'We were freer and looser than in a club,' he said, 'and this has never happened to me before on a record date. Everything was relaxed, light, and happy.' And it really was."The only thing that I would add about this delightful music is that everyone should keep an ear open for drummer Jimmy Madison, who plays on nine of the album's eleven tracks. I first became aware of Madison's excellent drumming on Jack Walrath's terrific and unjustly overlooked LP Wholly Trinity (Muse, 1988), a trio date featuring the trumpeter and bassist Chip Jackson. As on that LP, Madison's contributions to Ambiance are something special.
More Marian McPartland
Along with the two albums described above, two more of McPartland's Halcyon releases stand out. Marian McPartland Plays The Music Of Alec Wilder (Halcyon, 1980) is one of finest LPs dedicated to this unique composer of such singular songs. I would also recommend The Maestro and Friend (Halcyon, 1973), a duo LP with violinist Joe Venuti. Lastly, my favorite McPartland release on the label where she spend the majority of her career is A Portrait of Marian McPartland (Concord, 1979), a perfectly balanced LP that features superb saxophone and flute work by Jerry Dodgion.
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