Hellen Merrill

After Chick Corea surprised Marian McPartland with an impromptu musical portrait of her during a taping of her Piano Jazz program in 1979, little did he know he would inspire her to do the same to her guests on a regular basis, starting with one of him! This CD collects 23 of her improvisations of a wide range of artists; some of the most interesting portraits come from shows with rather unlikely guests like Paul Shaffer (of David Letterman fame), NPR executive and Murray Horwitz, and Judy Collins. Of course, the shows from which "Fred Hersch," "Willie Ruff" and "Randy Weston" deserve to be released in their entirety; while the improvisations of "Dizzy," "Ray Charles" and "Mercer Ellington" have previously appeared on Jazz Alliance CDs of Piano Jazz. This strongly recommended CD is available only through NPR Classics at 202-414-2033 or possibly as a premium through your local NPR affiliate station.