Jazz pianist Marian McPartland died in her Port Washington, N.Y. home Tuesday at age 95 The New York Times reported.
McPartland told jazz critic Leonard Feather during a National Public Radio interivew in 1998 that doubted she would have a successful career in the United States The Times reported.
"Oh, she'll never make it: she's English, white and a woman," McPartland said. "Mr. Feather always used to tell me it was a joke, but I don't think he meant it as a joke."
McPartland became a well-known pianist in the American jazz world and was host of her infamous public radio show "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz," which was syndicated internationally. Aside from her career, McPartland spoke at schools, and colleges, and was a writer for Down Beat Melody Maker along with other publications, The Times reported. McPartland had some of her essays published in 1987, and re-printed in 2003.
McPartland was also a part of photographer Art Kane's infamous jazz musician group photograph in 1958, and the topic of Jean Bach's 1994 documentary "A Great Day in Harlem" The Times reported.
McPartland beat the odds and challenges woman faced in the jazz world in the late 1940s.. She was able to attract audiences through her presence, and love for modern jazz. Her radio show "Piano Jazz" began on NPR in 1978, in an indirect interview style mixed with song collaborations and was produced by South Carolina Radio now called ETV Radio The Times reported.
The show was initially about different piano players, but quickly changed to feature vocalists including Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Costello. Trumpeters, saxophonists, and instrumentalists were also involved.
"I didn't have any idea I'd be good at something like this," McPartland told the Associated Press in 2000. "I certainly never thought people would know me because of my voice."
