We used to play the Savoy Ballroom, and we always had a boogie tune in the set. Bands like Tommy Dorsey used to do a little boogie woogie. The big bands.
Jay McShann Quotes
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| Birth: | 12th January, 1916 |
| Death: | 7th December, 2006 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Profession: | Bandleader, Composer, Pianist |
About
James Columbus "Jay" McShann was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. He was an American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster, and Walter Brown. He began working as a professional musician in 1931. After World War II he began to lead small groups featuring the blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon. Witherspoon started recording with McShann in 1945 and fronting McShann's band; he had a hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business". He had a modern rhythm and blues hit with "Hands Off", featuring a vocal by Priscilla Bowman, in 1955. In 1979, he appeared prominently in The Last of the Blue Devils, a documentary film about Kansas City jazz.
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