Piano Jazz is a weekly one hour radio show produced and distributed by National Public Radio. It began on June 4, 1978 and has always been hosted by jazz pianist Marian McPartland. It is the longest running cultural program on NPR. The show features a single guest, and usually consists of about an equal mixture of discussion and playing, often duets with McPartland. Initially the guests were limited to jazz pianists, but out of necessity the format was expanded to include performers on other instruments as well as other genres (though the performances remain focused on jazz tunes). The show provides an inside look at the relationships of jazz musicians, since McPartland has often had long friendships with many of her guests.
A number of shows have been released commercially on CD or LP, including Steely Dan[1], Milt Hinton[2], Kenny Burrell[3], Lionel Hampton[4] and Les McCann[5] .
On November 10, 2011, NPR announced the departure of Marian McPartland.[6] Jon Weber has, for now, stepped into Ms. McPartland's shoes, recording 13 episodes for the renamed Piano Jazz Rising Stars slated to air in early 2012.
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