McShann, Jay

▪ 2007

James Columbus McShann; “Hootie” 

      American jazz musician (b. Jan. 12, 1916?, Muskogee, Okla.—d. Dec. 7, 2006, Kansas City, Mo.), led the last major southwestern-style big band in the 1940s and then became an important piano soloist, with a graceful sense of melody and generous rocking swing. The McShann band played infectious riff-based tunes and blues; McShann's first recordings (1941) introduced visionary alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, then 20 years old, and included a hit, “Confessin' the Blues,” which featured singer Walter Brown. The band broke up when McShann entered the U.S. Army in 1944; he later led small groups in New York City and Los Angeles and accompanied singers. He spent most of the 1950s and '60s in obscurity in Kansas City before returning to widespread touring—this time as a soloist, small-band leader, and member of all-star swing groups—and recording dozens of albums. He was featured in several films, including Hootie's Blues (1978) and The Last of the Blue Devils (1979), and in Clint Eastwood's “Piano Blues” program in the PBS television series The Blues (2003).

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