NORAH JONES - MCPARTLAND HONOURED BY JONES + MARSALIS

Veteran jazz pianist MARIAN MCPARTLAND was joined by stars including NORAH JONES and trumpeter WYNTON MARSALIS as she celebrated her 90th birthday on Wednesday (19Mar08) night. MCPartland, affectionately known as the Grande Dame Of Piano Jazz, performed two sets at Jazz At Lincoln Center in New York City. The British-born star, who suffers from arthritis in her legs and is recovering from a fractured pelvis, joked to the crowd, "Getting up here is really a job." Jones took the stage to sing three numbers and paid tribute to MCPartland's influence on her own career. She told MCPartland, "Happy birthday and I'm so happy to be here and I love you madly."