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Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge was one of the great trumpeters of the swing era. On this program from 1987, Eldridge talked about a career including collaborations with Fletcher Henderson, Gene Kruppa and Billie Holiday. Eldridge shows off his piano chops, joining McPartland for a duet on "Ball of Fire," and sings on several numbers, including "I Want a Little Girl."
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Pianist and composer Matthew Shipp has an intricate and heady approach to his music, with avant-garde impulses that have led him to experiment with free jazz styles, tape loops and even turntable artists. Here, Shipp settles into one of his favorite environs, the duo format, as he and McPartland explore the outer reaches on "Naima" and Shipp's own "Gamma Ray."
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Piano Jazz remembers alto saxophonist Bud Shank, a West Coast jazz institution with a cool swinging sound that was instantly recognizable among jazz enthusiasts. Shank joined McPartland in 2006 and brought along bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner to perform "Lover Man" and "My Romance."
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For years Marian McPartland has been trying to line up Keith Jarrett for a Piano Jazz session. Following his stellar performance at Carnegie Hall in 2005, Marian confronted the elusive performer and convinced him to put in an appearance on her show. Hear an interview and performance.
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Marian McPartland asked her friend Elvis Costello to sit in as guest host for this episode of Piano Jazz. The session features New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint, who sings and plays his hit tune "Southern Nights" and performs a duet with Costello on the pair's recent collaboration "Ascension Day."
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The Piano Jazz host pays tribute to the environmentalist with a composition for strings and piano.
McPartland celebrated her birthday with some of jazz's biggest names in a night of improvisation.
