Jazz Great McPartland Honored March 30, 2014 By Tab Hauser A standing-room-only crowd turned out last weekend to pay tribute to the late legendary jazz great Marian McPartland, who called Port Washington her home. Family and friends reminisced about the talented, yet down-to-earth, woman who entertained countless music lovers for decades. The tribute, on what would have been the weekend of McPartland’s 96th birthday, was sponsored by Landmark on Main Street, the Port Washington Public Library and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. The evening started with highlights of the movie In Good Time, along with comments by its producer Huey, who uses just his first name professionally. Doug Kassel, grandson of McPartland, discussed the musician’s life and growing up with his grandmother and around music. He was followed by McPartland’s grandaughter Donna Gourdol. Jon Weber, host of NPR’s radio show Piano Jazz spoke about her role as a teacher. He introduced Schreiber student Adam Tuch, who performed on the piano in front of the packed library theater. When his solo number was completed, Weber asked Adam if he could join him for an impromptu “four handed” tune on the piano. After a minute of discussing what keys each would play, they brought the house down with a very lively number. This was followed by Schreiber student Noah Milstein playing the bass guitar. A highlight of the evening was a $500 scholarship award to Schreiber student Ethan Usoskin from the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. According to Tony Traguardo, one of the organizers of the evening and a Board Member of the Long Island Hall of Fame, “Ethan was selected by Schreiber High School for his excellence as a performer.” The evening finished off with more music by Jon Weber and the students. portwashington-news/jazz-great-mcpartland-honored/
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 06:40:12 +0000
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