In this joy-filled ETV Classics special, Piano Jazz (1986) comes to television, as Marian McPartland welcomes the king of cabaret singers, Bobby Short. He leads off with a song that he does at the Carlyle every night, written in 1934 by Duke Ellington called “Drop Me Off in Harlem.”
Bobby Short talks about growing up in Danville, Illinois in the African Methodist Episcopal Church recounting Thomas A. Dorsey gospel music and the effect on the church as the songs crossed the color line. He croons out a few lines of one of his favorite hymns "Hide Me In Thy Bosom."
The pair continues their musical bantering, touching on Thelonious Monk and riffing a bit on "Mr. Freddie Blues" by Mary Lou Williams, "Carnegie Blues" by Duke Ellington, and Marian asks him to play "Lying in the Hay" from the famous French song "Couchés dans le foin" - written by Mireille and Jean Nohain and recorded by Pills & Tabet. Marian does her riff on the melody.
Bobby recalls standing in the wings of a theater at the age of 8, and Cab Calloway called him out to play and sing something, and the only thing he could think of in the moment was "Hot Lips."
The duo next launches into a Duke Ellington piece "In A Mellow Tone." They talk about their favorite forms of communication with an audience, whether they favor a small audience gathered around you, or to be on a concert stage, or having a symphony orchestra wrapped around you. Bobby talks about when he started in 1972 with the Boston Pops and other orchestras around the country.
Marian launches into her very own "The Things We Did Last Summer" and then she plays Rodgers and Hart "Dancing on the Ceiling" while Bobby Short sings. Marian talks about music parties, such as the Piano Playhouse and Hoagie Carmichael, and then Bobby sings a Billy Strayhorn song, "After All." Afterwards, their nimble fingers riff on the "Devil and the Deep Blue Sea".
They close the program with a duet on "Just One of Those Things" and Marian plays her composition "Twilight World," noting that Johnny Mercer had written lyrics for the tune. The program ends with Marian accompanying Bobby Short on the piano as he sings Johnny Mercer's "My Shining Hour."
We will present a full collection featuring Marian McPartland - including the premiere of Marian McPartland's "A Portrait for Rachel Carson" performed with the USC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Donald Portnoy - on Monday, April 28 on ETV Classics! Be sure to join us then!
Side Notes
- Rapp on Jazz - We are adding a new regular local segment to our schedule next week. Hosted by Mark Rapp of the ColaJazz Foundation (and host of ColaJazz Presents), these one-minute modules will highlight jazz history, famous performers from South Carolina, and much more beginning March 31. These will air Monday-Friday at 6:50 am, 8:50 am, 1:39 pm, and 5:48 pm on all stations.
- ColaJazz Presents will begin our usual encore broadcasts of last fall's season of the show next week as well. This will preempt Jazz Night in America Sunday nights at 8:00pm April 6- June 29.
- NPR Bobby Short on Piano Jazz Originally recorded Oct. 29, 1978; first broadcast Apr. 29, 1979.
- Remembering Bobby Short -September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005
- Thelonious Monk
- Mary Lou Williams - Mr. Freddie Blues
- Carnegie Blues - Duke Ellington
- Thomas A. Dorsey - The acknowledged father of Black Gospel music and perhaps the most influential figure ever to impact the genre.
- Couchés dans le foin written by Mireille and Jean Nohain and recorded by Pills and Tabet
- "Hot Lips" written by Henry Busse ("When He Plays Jazz, He Has Hot Lips")
- Errol Garner June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard.
- Billy Strayhorn
- Johnny Mercer
- Twilight World, music by Marian McPartland and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
