Happy 90th Birthday, Marian McPartland!

Tonight, Jazz at Lincoln Center holds pianist-composer Marian McPartland's 90th Birthday Celebration Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. In anticipation of the event, The Wall Street Journal did itself proud with two articles on the great lady, by excellent longtime contributors Nat Hentoff and Tom Nolan, along with a sidebar recording her memories of famous guests on her long-running “Piano Jazz” program on National Public Radio.

Read the articles, by all means—then go out and buy at least one of her CDs. At minimum, get down on your knees and thank God for this nonpareil musician.

Not only has she made jazz history herself as pianist but also has preserved its memory. “Piano Jazz” has entranced listeners over the years with interviews and duets with legends like Benny Carter, Bill Evans, and Ray Charles as well as newcomers such as Diana Krall, Norah Jones and one of my favorites, Susan Werner. Surely one of the finest imports from the British Isles, McPartland has made an invaluable contribution to that most American of art forms, jazz.