ABSTRACT
British jazz pianist, born Margaret Marian Turner near Windsor, England. She studied violin, then piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London. Turning from classical to jazz piano, she performed in music halls. Having met and married Jimmy McPartland in 1945, she returned to the U.S. with him and worked with him in Chicago groups. In 1951 she began to perform with her own trio, developing a sophisticated style with classical elements, and became popular in quality jazz clubs. She remained active, and hosted a celebrated radio program for National Public Radio, Piano_Jazz, from the late 1970s (many of these programs have been issued on CD by the Jazz Alliance label). She also recorded prolifically as a solo artist beginning in the early 1950s, including albums for Savoy (1951-1952), Capitol (1953-1958), and Argo (1958) early in her career, and then returning to record, beginning in 1969, on her own label, Halycon. In 1982, she signed with Concord Jazz, and continued to record for the label through the turn of the 21st century. She also recorded two albums with her husband in the mid-1950s, The Middle Road (Jazztone #J-1227) and Dixieland Now and Then (Jazztone #J-1241).
