Jay McShann

Jay McShann
Jay McShann in a 1944 advertisement
Background information
Birth name	James Columbus McShann
Also known as	Hootie
Born	(1916-01-12)January 12, 1916 Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States
Died	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Genres	Blues, swing, jazz, jump blues, bebop
Occupation(s)	Musician, bandleader, composer
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1931–2006
Labels	Vee-Jay Records

James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was a jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer.

During the 1940s, McShann was at the forefront of blues and hard bop jazz musicians mainly from Kansas City. He assembled his own big band, with musicians that included some of the most influential artists of their time, including Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster and Walter Brown. His kind of music became known as "the Kansas City sound".

Early life

Nicknamed Hootie, McShann was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Musically, his education came from Earl Hines' late-night broadcasts from Chicago's Grand Terrace Cafe: "When 'Fatha' [Hines] went off the air, I went to bed". He began working as a professional musician in 1931, performing around Tulsa, Oklahoma and neighboring Arkansas.

Later life and career

1936–44

McShann moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1936, and set up his own big band, which featured variously Charlie Parker (1937–42), Al Hibbler, Ben Webster, Paul Quinichette, Bernard Anderson, Gene Ramey, Jimmy Coe, Gus Johnson (1938–43), Harold "Doc" West, Earl Coleman, Walter Brown, and Jimmy Witherspoon among others. His first recordings were all with Charlie Parker, the first as "The Jay McShann Orchestra" on August 9, 1940.

Although they included both swing and blues numbers, the band played blues on most of its records; its most popular recording was "Confessin' the Blues". The group disbanded when McShann was drafted into the Army in 1944 and, the big-band era being over, he was unable to successfully restart it after the war ended.

1945–2006

After World War II McShann began to lead small groups featuring blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon. Witherspoon started recording with McShann in 1945, and fronting McShann's band, and had a hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business". As well as writing much material, Witherspoon continued recording with McShann's band, which also featured Ben Webster. McShann had a modern rhythm and blues hit with "Hands Off", featuring a vocal by Priscilla Bowman, in 1955.

In the late 1960s, McShann became popular as a singer as well as a pianist, often performing with violinist Claude Williams. He continued recording and touring through the 1990s. Well into his 80s, McShann still performed occasionally, particularly in the Kansas City area and Toronto, Ontario where he made his last recording "Hootie Blues" in February 2001 after a recording career of 61 years. In 1979, he appeared prominently in the documentary on Kansas City jazz, The Last of the Blue Devils.

McShann died on December 7, 2006 in Kansas City, Missouri, aged 90. He was survived by his companion of more than 30 years, Thelma Adams (known as Marianne McShann), and three daughters.

Influence

Jay McShann at The Edinburgh Jazz Festival, c. 1995

On one of their earliest albums, Five by Five (a UK EP) and 12x5 (a US LP) (both 1964), The Rolling Stones recorded a cover of "Confessin' the Blues", a song McShann had co-written with Walter Brown in the 1940s. Crime-fiction writer Elmore Leonard featured McShann as a character in his 2005 novel, The Hot Kid.

Honors

• Blues Hall of Fame.
• Pioneer Award of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
• Paris All-Star Blues (A Tribute to Charlie Parker) – Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance – Nominee, 1991 Grammy Awards.
• Goin' to Kansas City – Best Traditional Blues Album – Nominee, 2003 Grammy Awards.
• Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 1989.

Discography

• 1954: Kansas City Memories – The Jay McShann Orchestra with Charlie Parker, Walter Brown, Al Hibbler and Paul Quinichette (DECCA)
• 1968: New York - 1208 Miles (1941-1943) – Jay McShann & his orch. - DECCA reissue from the French "Jazz Heritage Series," available in both mono (DL 9236) and simulated stereo (DL 79236).

External links

• Free MIDI sequences of five piano solos published by Jay McShann in 1942 : "Confessin' the Blues", "Dexter Blues", "Vine Street Boogie", "Hootie Blues", and "Jumpin' the Blues"