[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN RECOGNITION OF MARIAN McPARTLAND'S ``PIANO JAZZ''

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 1996

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and support 
Marian McPartland's ``Piano Jazz,'' a brilliant and entertaining radio 
series, as well as one of the Nation's finest vehicles for jazz 
preservation, promotion, and education. This series is produced by the 
South Carolina Educational Radio Network and has been the recipient of 
many major awards for broadcasting excellence, including the Peabody, 
Gabriel, Armstrong, Ohio State, and several New York International 
Radio Festival Awards.
  The series has also been honored with an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award and 
captured a Jazz Times poll. A measure of ``Piano Jazz' '' value is that 
both the Library of Congress and the Rogers & Hammerstein Archive of 
Recorded Sound of the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center are 
preserving complete collections of the series. This is a remarkable 
achievement for one of the first station-based, locally produced public 
radio programs to air across America.
  The program's host is herself an outstanding practitioner of jazz art 
and a well-honed musical intelligence. Ms. McPartland conducts the 
series with a warm collegiality that is both informative of the genres 
being explored and loving of the artists being featured. This style has 
made the series extremely listener friendly and popular. ``Piano Jazz'' 
rises to the difficult standard of appealing to both the aficionado and 
to the novice.
  ``Piano Jazz'' is National Public Radio [NPR] longest running music 
series and airs on over 250 NPR member stations nationwide. In its 17 
years, the program has been a showcase for many important performances 
by legendary and established artists, including Ahmad Jamal, Billy 
Taylor, Teddy Wilson, Mary Lou Williams, John Lewis, Oscar Peterson, 
Stanley Cowell, George Cables, Bobby Short, Cecil Taylor, and Bill 
Evans. The stylistic range of the series has been truly nonpartisan, if 
you will, reflecting the great diversity of modern jazz piano.
  The series has also introduced many up-and-coming artists to a wider 
audience, including Kenny Drew, Jr., Geri Allen, Benny Green, and Kenny 
Werner. This is one of the more laudable services provided by ``Piano 
Jazz'' for its audiences. Newly emerging artists need every opportunity 
to share their ideas and work. Marian McPartland has been both wise and 
considerate in balancing her programming by presenting both well-
established artists and those on the rise.
  South Carolina Public Radio is to be congratulated for developing, 
launching, and maintaining ``Piano Jazz.'' It is my fervent hope that 
this well-conceived and award-winning show continues to garner the 
public support it needs to serve its broad and varied audience. I ask 
my colleagues to join me in honoring Marian McPartland, Henry Cauthen, 
president and founder of the South Carolina Education Network, and 
Shari Hutchinson, the program's producer.

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