Jay Mcshann

Jay McShann played a pivotal role in the evolution of Kansas City swing, bebop, and R&B. The material presented in this segment of the McShann chronology is mostly based in the blues, with heavy emphasis on vocal talent. A session that took place in Kansas City on November 1, 1944 - with the great Walter Page handling the bass - resulted in four sides that were issued on the Capitol label. "Moten Swing" is mighty fine, and an elegant "Sunny Side of the Street" served as the flip side. Julia Lee hadn't recorded for 15 years when she sat in with McShann on this date. "Come on Over to My House" and "Trouble in Mind" turned out well enough that Capitol responded with a recording contract and her career took off anew…

At age 83, pianist/vocalist Jay McShann was still at the top of his game and providing many lessons for the younger "swing" cats and kittens. He is the epitome of what can be done when jazz and blues are mixed equally, especially when the fun factor is liberally added in. While some might find this typical, many others should revel in the sound of one of this music's last living legends who is still doing it, and doing it very well at that. The chemistry between McShann and guitarist/session leader Duke Robillard is considerable and undeniable, and makes Still Jumpin' the Blues enjoyable throughout. With such solid support from Robillard and the band, McShann has nothing to worry about. Everything you might want is here: classic versions of "Goin' to Chicago," "Ain't Nobody's Business," and "Trouble In Mind"; a nice rearrangement with tempo shift from mellow to mid-tempo on "Sunny Side of the Street"; Maria Muldaur's sultry singing on "Come on Over to My House," and especially the Bessie Smith evergreen "Backwater Blues"; wonderful instrumentals like "Moten Swing" and "Say Forward, I'll March"; and even a little Hawaiian slide accenting "Hootie's K.C. Christmas Prayer".

If there is just the slightest occasional hesitation in Jay McShann's singing on these tracks, which were recorded live at Toronto's Montreal Bistro on February 2, 2001 for CBC Radio One's Saturday Night Blues show, and if he occasionally doesn't really lock into the groove until the rest of the band (Jim Galloway on saxophones, Rosemary Galloway on bass, and Don Vickery on drums) jumps in, the real miracle is that McShann, at 90-years-old, can do this at all. But do it he does, and he delivers a wonderfully charming set of jazzy blues pieces that brim with an unsaid joy…

As part of The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions series, alto saxophonist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson is spotlighted on 14 digitally remastered tracks, recorded at Cargo Studio in Paris on March 9, 1969. This straight-ahead session pairs Cleanhead with pianist Jay McShann, Gene Ramey on bass, and McShann's drummer at the time, Paul Gunther. While this disc doesn't contain any unreleased tracks, it does feature several first-rate renditions of Vinson's signature tunes, including "Mr. Cleanhead Blues," "Kidney Stew," and "Juice Head Baby".

When Charlie Parker first came to New York in 1942, he was a sideman in Jay McShann's big band. Every jazz fan knows what happened after that - Parker changed the world and McShann became a footnote in Parker's biography. That's too bad, and not just for him; if the 1978 session remastered and reissued on this disc is anything to go by, McShann had much more to offer the world than his role as caregiver to the inventor of bebop. Leading an all-star cast that includes saxophonist Paul Quinichette, the ubiquitous Milt Hinton on bass, and a young, up-and-coming guitarist named John Scofield, McShann teaches an entire course on the history of blues-based jazz, going from his own "Confessin' the Blues" through "Hootie Blues"…

Although its programming has been juggled a bit, and the CD has been given liner notes, this Delmark release is a straight reissue of the original LP. Clocking in at around 38 minutes, the relatively brief set is the only recording that exists of Vinson, pianist Jay McShann, and guitarist T-Bone Walker playing together; the sextet is rounded out by the fine tenor Hal Singer, bassist Jackie Sampson, and drummer Paul Gunther. Vinson, whether singing "Plese Send Me Somebody to Love," "Just a Dream," and "Juice Head Baby" or taking boppish alto solos, is the main star throughout this album (originally on Black & Blue), a date that helped launch Vinson's commercial comeback.

Jay McShann was 83 at the time of this CD, but the pianist-singer sounds very much in prime form and had certainly not lost his enthusiasm. He teams up with some of the better Kansas City musicians active in the late '90s (tenor saxophonist Ahmad Alaadeen, guitarist Sonny Kenner, bassist Gerald Spaits, and drummer Todd Strait) on a variety of blues, originals, and swinging tunes, some of which are taken as instrumentals. Even if "What a Wonderful World" did not need to be played yet again, there are plenty of high points throughout this joyous set from McShann & friends.

At the young age of 87, Jay McShann recorded this album after the Edmonton Folk Festival. The master is living proof that the jazz continuum extends from Kansas City of the 1930s right up until to the present. On this relaxed and simple set of head arrangements, he's amply backed by Duke Robillard's band, plus Bob Tildesley on trumpet, and Dave Babcock on baritone sax. Saxophonist Gordon Beadle blows some fine, strong tenor throughout the album. The rhythm section lays down some solid ground for the piano pioneer. Jay McShann's style of jazz and blues is as vital as ever. His swing is relentless, the phrasing beautifully melodic, and the vocals are distinctively deep yet matter of fact.

Jay McShann - The Big Apple Bash (1978) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27278}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 298 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 160 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1978, 2013 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan / WEA | WPCR-27278 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Jazz Blues / Blues / Piano

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Pianist Jay McShann has spent much of his career being classified as a blues pianist when in fact he is a flexible swing stylist. On this excellent release, McShann appears with two groups of all-stars. His original "Crazy Legs and Friday Strut" and "Georgia on My Mind" find him joined by Herbie Mann (on flute and tenor), baritonist Gerry Mulligan and a rhythm section that includes guitarist John Scofield. The other selections (two standards, Duke Ellington's "Blue Feeling" and McShann's own "Jumpin' the Blues") are performed by an octet also featuring Mann, altoist Earle Warren, trumpeter Doc Cheatham, trombonist Dicky Wells and Scofield. The unusual grouping of swing, bop and modern stylists is successful (the material is pretty basic) and Janis Siegel's guest appearance for a vocal duet with McShann on "Ain't Misbehavin'" works.

Jays Blues is a fine collection of early-'50s jump blues sides that Jimmy Witherspoon cut for Federal Records. This 23-track collection offers a good retrospective of one of Witherspoon's most neglected – and admittedly, uneven – periods.