The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) enjoyed a long career and it is unfair to primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest before settling in Kansas City in 1936. McShann formed his own sextet the following year and by 1939 had his own big band. In 1940 at a radio station in Wichita, KS, McShann and an octet out of his orchestra recorded eight songs that were not released commercially until the 1970s; those rank among the earliest of all Charlie Parker records (he is brilliant on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Lady Be Good") and also feature the strong rhythm section team McShann had with bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Gus Johnson. The full orchestra recorded for Decca on two occasions during 1941-1942 but they were typecast as a blues band and did not get to record many of their more challenging charts (although very rare broadcasts have since surfaced and been released on CD by Vintage Jazz Classics). In addition to Bird (who had a few short solos), the main stars were trumpeter Bernard Anderson, the rhythm section, and singer Walter Brown. McShann and his band arrived in New York in February 1942 and made a strong impression, but World War II made it difficult for any new orchestras to catch on. There was a final session in December 1943 without Parker, but McShann was soon drafted and the band broke up. After being discharged later in 1944, McShann briefly re-formed his group but soon moved to Los Angeles, where he led combos for the next few years; his main attraction was the young singer Jimmy Witherspoon.
1941-1943
01. Swingmatism (2:40)
02. Hootie Blues (2:57)
03. Dexter Blues (2:58)
04. Vine Street Boogie (2:37)
05. Confessin' the Blues (2:53)
06. Hold 'Em Hootie (2:42)
07. One Woman's Man (3:05)
08. 'Fore Day Rider (2:57)
09. So You Won't Jump (2:40)
10. New Confessin' the Blues (3:06)
11. Red River Blues (2:57)
12. Baby Heart Blues (2:48)
13. Cryin' Won't Make Me Stay (2:33)
14. Hootie's Ignorant Oil (2:44)
15. Lonely Boy Blues (2:58)
16. Get Me on Your Mind (3:05)
17. The Jumpin' Blues (3:03)
18. Sepian Bounce (3:10)
19. Say Forward, I'll March (3:10)
20. Wrong Neighborhood (3:22)
21. Hometown Blues (3:07)
1944-1946
01. Moten Swing (3:01)
02. Come On over to My House (2:53)
03. Trouble in My Mind (2:56)
04. On the Sunny Side of the Street (3:03)
05. Confessing the Blues (3:11)
06. Walking (3:26)
07. When I've Been Drinking (3:16)
08. Hard-Working Man's Blues (3:23)
09. Merry-Go-Round-Blues (3:10)
10. Bad Tale Boogie (2:12)
11. McShann's Boogie-Blues (3:07)
12. Hootie Boogie (2:55)
13. Garfield Avenue Blues (3:04)
14. Shipyard Woman Blues (3:04)
15. Crown Prince Boogie (2:53)
16. Ernestine (2:51)
17. Bucktown Boogie (2:59)
18. Roll On, Katy (3:07)
19. Voodoo Woman Blues (2:39)
20. I Want a Little Girl (2:38)
21. Jimtown Boogie (2:52)
22. Have You Ever Loved a Woman? (2:51)
23. Gone with the Blues (2:42)
