Piano Jazz Shorts

Vibes player Dave Samuels is one of the best mallet players on the scene today. A versatile musician, Samuels has played with everyone from Stan Getz to Frank Zappa. Samuels brought along pianist Alain Mallet to perform "Picture Frame," an original tune from his Latin Grammy winning album with his group, the Caribbean Jazz Project. Samuels and Mallet end the hour with "All the Things You Are."

Pianist, composer and arranger Dick Hymanhas made two appearances on Piano Jazz,the first in 1979 and this reprise from 2009.Always the fleet-fingered pianist and versatilemusician, Hyman performs tunes by GeorgeGershwin, Antonio Carlos Jobim and a JamesP. Johnson rag before winding up the hourwith host McPartland on improvised blues.

Pianist Helen Sung is a dazzling and passionate player with flawless technique and an exquisite touch.  Originally from Houston, TX, Sung is a graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance and has played with such luminaries as Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, and her mentor, Kenny Barron. She shows off her compositional skills on her tune, “Hope Springs Eternally,” and joins McPartland on “Someday My Prince Will Come.”

Pianist Dave McKenna got his start as a teen working withCharlie Ventura and Woody Herman in the late 1940s and early'50s. He went on to work with Gene Krupa, Joe Venuti, StanGetz, Zoot Sims, Louis Armstrong, and Bobby Hackett, amongothers. But he preferred to play solo gigs in the smallclubs and bars of his native Rhode Island. On this PianoJazz we remember pianist Dave McKenna. Marian McPartlandinvited Daryl Sherman to guest host this remembrance whichincludes clips from Piano Jazz with Marian and Dave in 1979and 1994. Daryl also treats us with her renditions of "RhodeIsland is Famous for You" and "Teddy Ballgame."Dave solos onI'll Be Around and joins McPartland for a duet of Let's GetAway from it all."

Piano Jazz remembers Gerald Wiggins, a master musician whose career as a pianist, arranger, and composer spanned six decades.  He spent much of his career as an in-demand sideman for everyone from Louis Armstrong to Lena Horne.  On this 1992 program, Wiggins plays his thought-provoking improvisations on “Body and Soul,” before getting together with McPartland for “Now’s the Time.”

Composer and pianist George Shearing rose to prominence in the late 1940s with his signature “Shearing sound”:  block chords backed by the band playing in tight unison. Shearing, who was blind, composed over 300 tunes and performed for 3 Presidents and the Queen of England. He performs “Yesterdays” and plays and sings “After You,” and duets with McPartland on “We’ll Be Together Again.” And “”.

Pianist and singer Barbara Carroll was McPartland’s second guest during the first season of Piano Jazz.  Thirty years later, Carroll made a return appearance to reminisce with her good friend about their experiences at the Hickory House and the Oak Room in Manhattan. Carroll gives a charmed performance of Bill Evans’ tune, “Very Early,” and McPartland improvises a musical portrait of her guest. 

Italian import Daniela Schaechter is a brilliant young pianist and singer taking the jazz scene by storm.  But her resume disguises her youth, with a long list of awards and performances with jazz luminaries.  One thing is for sure – she’ll be around for years to come. Schaechter performs her own tune, “Dark Blue,” and McPartland joins in for “It Could Happen to You.”

Pianist Christopher Ziemba is an amazing young pianist and composer currently enrolled in the post-graduate program in Jazz Studies at Julliard.  He took the stage at age 7, playing with his hometown orchestra; last year he won the 2011 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. On his Piano Jazz debut from 2009,  Ziemba performs  “Dream Dancing” and “The Nearness of You.”

Pianist Ellis Larkins was best known for his recorded work as accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald. He also worked with a list of other artists including Herb Jeffries, Anita Ellis and Mildred Bailey, and was a celebrated solo and trio performer on the New York Club scene. On this 1979 session, Larkins performs  “Perfidia” and “Blues in the Night,” and duets with McPartland on “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”