Jay McShann Obituary

For Jay...when I think of jazz
...I think of you.

WEEP NOT FOR ME


Do not weep for me when I no longer dwell among the wonders of the earth; for my larger self is free, and my soul rejoices on the other side of pain...on the other side of darkness.

Do not weep for me, for I am a ray of sunshine that touches your skin, a tropical breeze upon your face, the hush of joy within your heart and the innocence of babes in mothers arms.

I am the hope in a darkened night. And, in your hour of need, I will be there to comfort you. I will share your tears, your joys, your fears, your disappointments and your triumphs.

Do not weep for me, for I am cradled
in the arms of God. I walk with the angels, and hear the music beyond the stars.

Do not weep for me, for I am within you;
I am peace, love, I am a soft wind that caresses the flowers. I am the calm that follows a raging storm. I am an autumns leaf that floats among the garden of God, and I am pure white snow that softly falls upon your hand.

Do not weep for me, for I shall never die, as long as you remember me...
with a smile and a sigh.


© Joe Fazio
~
[email protected] /Joe Fazio,
Beverly Hills, California

The musician's life, with it's touring and unpredictable schedules, is tough on a family. Thank you for sharing this radiantly optimistic man with us.

To Thelma and the family: I am Rusty Tucker's widow. He passed away in June. Rusty was one of the Scamps and the Tim Whitmer Express. Arthur Jackson of the Scamps passed in November. Rusty played on many occasions with Jay and thought very highly of him. They have all now joined the "cats" in heaven for the big jam session there. Hang in there, it does get better after time with God's help. I can be reached at [email protected]. I have since moved to St. Louis as I could no longer be around the memories and the things that reminded me of him so much.

Just found out today, 4th January 2007. What a great loss to us all. A gifted musician.
Australia

Pam & Charlie
What a legacy your father left. You're in our prayers. Love you both.

Please accept condolences from a fan who, though never having met Mr. McShann, feels like he has known him for a very long time. His music conveyed unfailingly that joyful blues, that bitter sweet aspect of life which we all experience here on earth. I trust that his loved ones find comfort in Christ at this time of sadness.

Blessed be the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort who comfort us in all our tribulation 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 You have my Deepest Sympathy.

Jayne, Bennie, Tiffany and Amy,
So sorry to hear about your loss, Jayne. What a legacy to leave you. Hang in there. Think of you often and love you lots.

Linda---I'm so very sorry about the loss of your dad, and am sorry, too, that I was unable to go to the visitation on Thursday. You've been constantly in my thoughts because I lost my dad last January, so my heart really goes out to you and your family.

Pam, Charlie, & family

My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Please remember "Whose" we are.

Pam & Family,
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I pray that you will be comforted and strengthened in knowing that the Lord Cares for you, and he will never leave or forsake you.

Pam, you are missed at San Fran, and I especially miss seeing your smile when we (the ushers) march around for the offering.

Know that you are in my thoughts and in my prayers.
Love

JONI & FAMILY,OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IN THE LOST OF YOUR LOVE ONE."JAY"WE HOPE THAT,ONE DAY SOME OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS WILL WALK IN JAY'S FOOTS STEPS.MUCH LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!! MS.DAVIS, KCK, DEMETRIUS DAVIS & FAMILY/SEATTLE,WA.

Linda, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. It's been a long time. I hope you are well.

Pam, Charlie & Entire Family,
I am praying for you especially at this time.Charlie remember some of the scriptures you learned in our Sunday School Class.The Lord will give strength unto his people.For the joy of the Lord is your strength.He is waiting to console you, Pam and your family.
Love You,

Jay gave us great joy (and through his recordings, he still does)! God bless him! We saw him at the Folly Theater in KC (2005), and he was phenominal!

Larry (41) & Alec (9), Vermont

Linda, Jayne, & Pam,

My condolences on your dad's passing. Linda, thanks for the call. It's good to hear he was jumpin' the blues until the last. I've only come to appreciate Jay more and more as the years have passed. And just to let you know, Dj's here at WTJU in Charlottesville, VA have been paying tribute. While Jay joins all his buddies now playing in the great jumpin' joint on the other side, thank all of you for helping to keep his music and legacy alive here on terra firma!

Linda's former 75th street roomie,

Jay McShann was a huge influence on me. He came to Wichita frequently, played at Bill Reaves' club here, and encouraged me to sit in. A delightful man..."bang bang". God rest you, Hootie.

I discovered Jay McShann one night in 1968 at the Ramada Inn in Topeka.
I heard this piano music that I knew from an album I had bought some years before titled "Kansas City Piano", featuring the music of Jay, Count Basie, Pete Johnson and Mary Lou Williams. Pretty impressive company! I went in to the lounge where Jay was playing,with Paul Gunther on drums and Claude "Fiddler" Williams on violin. I was hooked! Thereafter, I went to hear Jay McShann every time I got the chance. For years he played the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina and I took my son and his wife to hear him. Count Basie was scheduled to appear with his orchestra there one year, but got sick, so Jay was asked to front the orchestra on the spur of the moment. He did it as though he had been rehearsing for months. One night in Topeka I took my parents, inlaws, son & wife to hear Jay play. My son was learning how to play the guitar and took it with us to the gig. He was only fifteen at the time. I asked Jay if it would be alright if he could sit in and he said yes, so my son played a couple of numbers with them. What a thrill for us all! Jay was so courteous and generous. I will always remember that as well as his great playing. To paraphrase one of Jay's numbers, I hope I'll be swinging the blues till the day I die.

ONE OF MY MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER PLAYING WITH YOU & BIG MAMA THORNTON & KOKO TAYLOR IN 1980 AT CARNEGIE HALL. YOU WERE GREAT AND WILL BE MISSED BY ALL.

Dear Pam,
In times like these our Lord Jesus is more than able to comfort, strengthen and keep you and family. Just lean on him, and "Cast all your care upon Him , for he careth for you"

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord,and he shall sustain thee:" Psalm 55:22a
Pam and the entire McShann Family,we want you to know that we love you and we will continue to pray for you.

Linda,Jayne, & Pam

Even in your sadness, may you find comfort in knowing that the angels must be smiling because your loved one is among them now. I will keep you all in my prayers.

To Lisa, Lamar, Cina, Bud and Nubby:
Words cannot express how sorry to hear of your grandfathers passing. We love and miss you all very much. In the days to come may the love of friends and family carry you through your grief. Call me when you touch down.

I will never forget you, Jay.
Rest in peace, my beloved hero.

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

Jayne,I just wanted you to know that your friends at Sherwood send our prayers out to you and your family. I've been where you are and I can imagine how you are feeling but I also know that your father is absent from the body but he is present with the Lord! I hope that you find comfort in knowing that also. We love you!

Here is an excerpt from an email I sent Leslie at the Mississippi Rag literally hours before I heard the news of Hootie's passing:

"Bill Smith and I were season ticket holders for the Gibson concerts here in Denver and collared Jay after one performance he played in and took him to my apartment along with a few other friends. Toward the witching hour when our other friends had wisely headed home the crowd winnowed down to the three of us. Jay asked if we could run him down to his hotel so I got his coat and helped him in to it. As we headed toward the front door Jay said, "Aren't we going to have another drink?" I assumed he meant a rider but when I came back from the kitchen with his drink he already had his coat off so Bill and I took our coats off and poured another one so Jay wouldn't have to drink alone. Along about 2AM Jay finally said, "I've got to catch an early plane Lou, could you run me down to the hotel now?" This time he didn't ask for another drink so we were on our way. All the way to the hotel he kept looking for some place open to get a hamburger but, mercifully, they were all closed. We never did find out if he made that early flight. I fortunately have some great photos of that memorable night/morning."

Bill was putting some thoughts of Jay to paper at about the same time as I and we both agree that our timing was prescient and far beyond being coincidental. In the all too short hours I was with Jay, he made me feel like a life long friend and I've felt that way for the twenty years since. That friendsdhip is a blessing I'll never let go of.

I share the pain of loss with all his close friends and family and send my deepest sympathy to all of you. We have all lost a real jewel of a human being.

For some insight into the unvarnished Jay McShann don't miss Bill Smith's entry several pages back in the guest book. It's "liner notes" material.

Pam:

Just wanted you to know you're in my thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. God Bless Jay and you and the family.

Charlie and Pam,
We send our deepest sypmpathy to your family. We will keep you in our
prayers

Please accept my deepest sympathies.

I was thinking about Jay last Wednesday and for some reason I wrote a little trivia about Jay to a friend. Perhaps a premonition. Some of this might be of interest to his fans. For knowing Jay since 1936 I was one lucky guy.
One night after the Dick Gibson party in Denver ended around 1 am, I offered to drive Jay to his hotel. He said first, he wanted some ribs. He called Daddy Bruce's, but Daddy said he was just closing shop, famed for his BBQ ribs. I can still hear Jay pleading, "Come on Daddy, you can stay open a while for your old pal Jay!" He didn't.

I'm sure it's all written elsewhere, but I recall Jay telling me that Earl Hines wanted Charlie Parker. Jay said that Hines told him, "Jay, I'm going to get him...I can pay him more than you can and I'm taking him." Jay told me that several months later, Earl called him and pleaded, "Take him back, please, I can't deal with him."

I was at the Pla-mor Ballroom where Jay was playing one night and was hauled off the band stand and away because he hadn't answered numerous 1A draft notices. Jay explained he had been traveling and hadn't picked up his mail for some time. Anyway, he was drafted and sent to Leavenworth to be inducted. For some physical reasons, Jay was released. , A month or two later, I was walking through the KC airport terminal building one afternoon when I ran in to Jay who was ready to board a Braniff flight to New York where he was taking his band to play the Savoy. He was so pleased, and thanked me for taking the time to come to the airport to see him off. I never told Jay that I was working that afternoon at the air traffic control center and was just taking a coffee break.

One Saturday afternoon I picked Jay up at his hotel to bring him to my condo for a chat before the Gibson concert that night. He told me that he had lost his diabetes pills and just had to have them. I took him to the Denver hospital and he filled out a bunch of forms for about a half hour to get a prescription. When they found out though he lived in Kansas City, they told him they couldn't give him any. I took him to my pharmacist in Lakewood who gave him enough to get by until he returned to KC. Jay was quite thankful.

I've probably told you that I drove from Denver to Kansas City at Jay's invitation, to be at the Hotel Muehlbach when he was to receive the key to Kansas City by the mayor. I was pleased to be invited to sit at the head table with Jay, his wife, and Claude "Fiddler" Williams....a jazz violinist, whom you can google if you don't know about him. Even though I play the violin, it was never my favorite jazz instrument. I did like Joe Venuti's humor, however.

Jay was at his best, telling about driving from KC to Lincoln to play a dance at Nebraska U, when the car that he and Parker were in hit a chicken. Parker threatened to jump out if the driver didn't stop the car so he could pick it up.off the two lane highway. Blacks couldn't stay in hotels then, and had to stay in homes. Charlie took the beat up chicken in to the lady of the house and had her cook it for him for dinner that night. (As you know, Charlie Parker got the name Yardbird....shortened to Bird...after that incident. I thought of it when I was in Cannes, and Clint Eastwood was showing his film "Bird."

When Janet and I lived in Red Bridge...southern part of Kansas City...Jay played weekends at a club, a few blocks from us. One Saturday night when it was time to close, I asked Jay to follow me and stop in and play our new Hammond organ. As we were driving down the street , I looked back saw Jay's car, along with four or five other cars following him to my place. Jay had invited the remaining folks at the club to come along too, without my knowing it. After he had played the organ a few times, Jay suddenly got up and said he had to leave. He explained to me later that he had forgotten that he had let his singer Priscilla off to use the pay phone to call her daughter and drove off without her. It must have been about 10 degrees outside. . He never came back to my place -- with Priscilla whom Jay said was rather disturbed about being left out in the cold.

I heard Jay many times during the early 1940's...mostly when he played at Tootie's Mayfair Club, just south of the city limits so it could stay open after the 1pm Kansas City closing time. Jay played with Doc Bruce's band a lot...Bruce used to feature Walter Page, of the Blue Devil's fame. Jay also had a drummer, Paul Gunther who was great but would not travel so never became well known. One night after Moss Hart's Winged Victory Army Air Corps show was in Kansas City, some of the musicians headed for Tooties. One of them was Benny's brother, Harry who played bass and wanted to hear Page. During an intermission, I spotted Joe Bushkin and asked if he'd play a number. Joe asked if it was OK...I assured him that it would be, so he played "Embraceable You" for me. (I recall now I've told you about this.)


A few months ago I called Jay to see how he was doing after a bad fall. He had been in a nursing facility for treatment, but was home and sounded pretty good. He always calls me Smitty.

Linda, Jayne and Pam

May god be with you.

God Bless you Jay. So nice of you to stop by and bless us in such a wonderful way. Music will never be the same without you.

very sad new for the jazz family,
never going out.
Fernando Villar

The quality of piano-playing in Heaven just increased dramatically!
We'll miss you down here, though.

You have our deepest sympathy. Our prayers are with you.

My friends and I, tho underage Southwest hi-schoolers, were still able to hear Jay at a bar near 55th and Troost in the 50s. Wherever I've lived in the U.S., real jazz players knew of Jay and said how lucky we were to have heard him when teenagers. He was our benchmark. My condolences to his family. His music lives on!

Linda, Jayne and Pam,
Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. My sincere condolences to you and to the kids. Linda, my parents send their best wishes as well.
Take care and peace to you all.

Jayne and family: I have grown to love your father through your love and dedication. I am here if you need me.

Charlie Washington, look to God for your help.We or here to support you. we love you very much

To the McShann Family Sorry for the Lost of Jay,The Washington Family will Be prying for you. Charmaine, We love you and will always be there for you. Always remember that Your Grandfather is in a better place and will be waiting for you in Haven

Jayne and family - My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time of loss. May your memories and the memories of all you father's friends bring you comfort.

My sympathy to the Mc Shann family for the loss of their loved one.

Jay was a gentle soul and a class act. I carry his music with me always.

With Christmas fast approaching if I was to pick a memory of my grandfather Jay it would be our Christmas time together.

Growing up and having Christmas at Jay's house was always filled with music and laughter. We would arrive to always hear Jay give well wishes to everyone that called him. Then we would listen to stories of his many travels and gigs. Jayne would always be the last to arrive with huge, noisy bags of gifts that still needed to be wrapped. We would sit down to a meal of the "dreaded duck" which I still have not acquired a taste for. After dinner it was music time. I would always ask Jay to perform "going to Kansas City". He would always do so with his brown liquor in a short crystal glass and a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth. There would always be one eye closed because the tendrils of smoke floating up. Me, Joni, and Jason would burst out laughing at the end of the song because Jay would end the number in his ever famous "bang-bang". We would then begin to groan out loud because Pam's request of songs was "On a Clear Day" which she enjoyed singing in an over the top version. She too had her own special way of ending that song.

Many a Christmas was spent this way with Jay. Eventually, I got rid of the dreaded duck and my husband would cook his famous gumbo. Jay would be the first to arrive at my home to eat it.

I would like to think that this Christmas Jay is looking down, sitting at the piano. He has a short crystal glass in front and a cigarette hanging out his mouth to the left. One eye closed because of the smoke. He's playing Going to Kansas City. He looks over in Charlotte and see me, Kim, sweetie pie(cina) and Bud(Lamar). He looks down in KC to see Joni, Robin and Tatum. Looks over and see Jason and baby Jason. Goes to his right and see Jayne, Amy, Tiffany, and Bennie. Goes toward CHI town and looks at Linda, Stan, Pam, and Charlie. Gives that famous grin of his, takes a sip and gives a resounding "Bang-Bang".

We love and miss you. Lisa

Pam & McShann Family:

Pam, very sorry to hear of your loss, your father lived a very full life and brought great joy to many with his music. May his memories sustain you during this difficult time. God Bless You!

last of the blue devils,sad sad day.it's going to be one heck of a jam up there.keep listening.

My sympathy to the McShann family for their loss. Jay will be remembered for his great contribution to the world of Jazz and for being such a good person, as well.

I recall the warm smile and exciting tunes from Jay's performances at the Anchor in Vancouver - what a sincere gentleman.
We'll miss his presence but will enjoy the music forever.

To the McShann Family,

My deepest sympathies. Jay influenced me greatly during the late 60's while I was studying piano with Willie Rice down at 19th and Highland. He would come every so often and give and the band pointers. I learned a Lot from him. To Jay: Give Duke a high five for me.

Clarence "Blues and BBQ" Shields

THE END OF A LEGEND

Linda: May you know that your father gave greatly to the Kansas City legend of jazz. We know you are feeling great loss at this time. You are in our prayers. Ev and Larry Gelb

You ROCKED. THANK YOU!!!

My sympathy to the McShann daughters. I know you will miss him terribly. It is hard to share him, to mourn your father while so many others mourn the loss of a jazz paragon. Although it may be of little consolation, many others will miss your father, too.

To the McShann Family;
I really appreciated the sage advice and encouragement given to me by Jay McShann several weeks before a scheduled performance in Hollywood, CA.
In particilar, his story about he and "Buck" O'Neil at the Savoy Hotel in New York during their younger years. I will always remember, life is about experiences and sharing wisdom This is what he did for me after my humble requests for his suggestions. He said "don't listen to naysayers, keep doing what you are doing...it just takes a spark and one thing will lead to another and another, then you are on your way." My lesson from Mr. Jay McShann; You can never be to great or to important to help another in some profound way. Our performances in Hollywood, CA. October 11, 12 & 16, 2006 was dedicated to the Kansas City jazz icon, my mentor and friend...Mr. Jay McShann.
Thank you, Jason.

Hootie, Your influence on the jazz scene will NEVER be forgotten. Your memory will live forever in the hearts of all true jazzers!
We will continually visit your accomplishments and contributions to jazz through my jazz history class at Baker University.
My special condolences and prayers to your family.

Thank you. You will be missed.

I would like to express my condolences to the family.

My sympathy to the McShann Family
So sorrow for your loss of Jay,he live a long time and seen a lot. I read he play with " Bird " and I heard he was a good Jazz player. The Bible show that Jehovah God create mankind to live forever, this hope will become real.
At Rev.21:4 says"death will be no more" and at Acts 24:15 says"There is going to be a resurrection" Instead of Tears of sorrow,there will Tears of JOY. Just imagine having a warm reunion with Jay on a paradise earth and listen to him and Bird play together again.Jay is sleep now but soon we see him again. Please find comfort in this promise from Jehovah God.

Be Still

Be still like the grass on a melancholy summer day
Be still like desert shrub.

Be calm and you will hear your loved one speak, in the stillness, in the calm, their love resounds.

If you are still this promise I make, you will hear the voice of your loved one helping you along your way.

From all the Dexter family, and especially the KC Jazz lovers Dave and Dick, we thank you for your beautiful music.

I will never forget Friday March 20, 1992 at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, MO when you and John Hicks collaborated to give the St. Louis audience a great night of music. From that concert came the CD THE MISSOURI CONNECTION.The two of you are now reunited. Jay & John thanks for the memories.

RICHARD R. HENDERSON
PRESIDENT of CRUSADERS FOR JAZZ
4116 N. TAYLOR AVE.
ST. LOUIS, MO 63115
314-385-5281

I saw Jay McShann perform on stage, often with Claude "Fiddler" Williams, several times, especially in the 1970s, in Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, and Wichita.

I especially like his "Man From Muskogee" and "Last of the Blue Devils" albums.

I'd like to see his complete vintage recordings for the Decca label from the 1940s compiled and released on CD. I don't think any U. S. CD label has such a collection available at this time.

My sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to the entire McShann
Family My memories of Jay will forever remain. He was a great father inlaw and the best grandfather to Joni and Jason. He loved his music and family. KC has lost the best. "Bang-Bang"..

I pray for your loved ones.jay.

Hootie I forgot to thank you also for my sisters in law Jannie and Pam and for my marvelous nieces Tiffany and Amy , my fellow combatant Jason, my niece Joannie, her husband Robin, and the kids,Tatum and Jason Jr . You brought me so much happiness because I now have a family who care for me. And especially my wife, your daughter Linda, the joy of my life who is the most beautiful,strong, talented woman I have ever known. As in Hamlet, "Let flights of Angels sing thy way to sleep". And then, baby, play those notes. We were blessed with your presence, and now God has a piano player to keep Betty, Ella, Yardbird, Duke, Basie, going, man and the Blue Devils can play for ever. God bless you. You brought joy to the world and now to the great jazz jam in the sky

Jay McShann has always been and will always be my main man in jazz. I was so fortunate to see him perform several times in Kansas City and at a Stride Summitt in San Francisco. The last time I saw Jay was in Eugene, Oregon with Jay and Henry Butler on two grand pianos, Dick Hyman swinging on a B-3 and Ruth Brown belting out the lyrics. Ruth left us two weeks ago and now Jay. What a night that was in Eugene, I'll take those memories with me when I leave this life. My condolences to his family, he was truly a giant.

Extending our heartfelt sympathy. May God give you strength at this time. Our prayers are with you. In Christ love.

My introduction to Jay's talent was through a fellow photographer at the Kansas City STAR, a man we all called Papa Sims. He and his wife Kitty would have parties in their grand old tumble-down mansion and he'd play My Chile at top volume. i searched for the exact LP for years and finally found it in a used record store in LA. i've played it myself at top volume many times.
Jay played the San Francisco Jazz Festival a few times, and i always went to hear him. One evening, as I went to the stage afterwards to see him up close, I heard him say to some people that they were going to meet at the Washington Square Bar & Grill. At that time, it was a grand place run by Ed Moose, and Mike Lipskin would play the old upright fairly regularly. They had a back room separated by a curtain, and that's where Jay and his friends had gathered. I introduced myself, shook his hand, told him how much i admired his music, and said i'd like to buy him a drink. I asked what kind of Hootie's Ignorant Oil he'd like, and bringing him that drink and clinking glasses with the great Jay McShann is a memory i'll hold onto the rest of my life. I know, however, that his music will last longer.

You were loved & will be soreely missed.


Kizzie50

The last of the Blue Devils has left us, but I for one am proud to own his recordings. Through those recordings I and others like me will never forget.

Bang, bang, Hootie! You, Claude, Paul and Art Hicks can have another beautiful jam session, with Bill Reeves serving up the food. Save me a front row seat. Wonderful Wichita memories! It will truly be "Air Mail Special"!

I was privileged to attend a performance by Jay in Auckland, New Zealand
during the '90's.
To sum up this show in one word...spellbinding..!!
along with his sublime performance the other thing I remember was the beauty
of the man as a person...that smile..!!..that wide beaming face had a force
that could suck in a black hole from a distant galaxy..!!

we have lost a truly special man & musician...thanks for the MAGIC Jay..!!

Thanks for the memories and the music - they live forever.

Jay McShann family and Marianne,
I enjoyed waiting on Jay as a customer at Michael's Clothing. He was a delightful person and will be
missed.

My Dad played the Chesterfield Clud with Jay in 1930's, told me many stories of them traveling to other clubs after closing, Dad passed 3 years ago, now they can jam again

The jazz band in heaven just got one of the best ever. Rest in peace, Jay.

While I was employed at Michaels Clothing, I took care of Jay's wardrobe. He was a gentle and kind man who I will never forget. When a man of his stature passes it is a loss to the whole world.

You will be missed but never forgotten! Grandson

"BANG BANG". Gone but Jay, you will never be forgotten! The pleasure of being your friend for the last 25 plus years has been one of the biggest thrills of my life. The warmest smile the world has ever seen.

He was the greatest Jazzman that ever lived. He will truly be missed

Jay McShann was the "LAST" of Kansas City's original jazz history. Jay will be missed. My prayers go out for the McShann family in the midst of this PAINFUL BEYOND WORDS!! time.

JAY, you will be so missed.Over 20 years both in NYC and Toronto have I enjoyed your music.Will never forget you singing "Good Night Irene" at a concert out on Long Island,oh so many years ago.'Twas never so sweet.
Rest in Peace dear friend.

Jay is home now. My prayers for the McShann family.

What a sweet and gentle man, who was also a sweet and fine musician. I met him first as a patient, then discovered his music. Wow, what a gift. Thank you, Mr. McShann, for the priviledge. And to his family, I am so sorry for your loss, which is so much greater than ours.

We have many memories ofJay and his friendship of over 20 years,of Jam sessions at our house in Kansas,visits on the road,such a greatmusician,such a priviledge to have been a small part of his life Art Smith and Mary

I got turned on to Jay and Big Joe Turner through the movie "Last of the Blue Devils. Their music has enriched my life for many years. My deepest sympathy to Jay's family and to all of those who loved him.

How blessed I am to have heard Jay play live. Brings back memories one warm Kansas City summer.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Jay's family.
I first met Mr. McShann while working at KJLA in KC in the late 80's. He gave me a copy of Man From Muskogeee and I forgot to ask him to sign it. I took the same album to the Cincinnati Blues Festival in the summer of 2004 where Jay was inducted into the Blues & Boogie Hall of Fame. He graciously signed it then played an inspiring set of music.
Hootie....thanks for your kindness
and great music.
God Bless.

So long Jay and how lucky the world and KC was to have seven decades of your talent, charm and dignity.
Say Hi to Claude and make Bird behave up there.....

Truly a gentleman, I was privileged to hear him play these last years and was awed by the perfection of his performances, even in his 80's. There is a point where he transcended any consideration of technique, conception, anything but the sound of his piano hanging in the air, perfect. Yes, a cultural treasure. We are the less now that the venue has changed because, no doubt, they won't let him just sit around over there but drag the piano bench out and have him roll out a few tunes. I had a fantasy owning a nite club and Jay was the pianist, playing any time he wanted to. Now I got to wait 'til I graduate myself to hear him again, but the memories, I have that. So, too, family and friends, Jay was well loved even as he shared his love with us through his playing, so take comfort in your bereavement that many surround you who share your loss and wish to offer you their condolences, as I do. "...for life is not a paragraph/and death, i think, is no parenthesis.."

Jay,
What a joy to hear your voice. You will be missed. Heartfelt sympathy to your family.

God Bless You Jay !
Kansas City will miss you.
Jay McShannon on Piano
Miles Davis on trumpet
Bird and Dextor Gordon on Sax
Art Blakey on drums
Buck O'Niel in the front row
Man, that will be a sweet show tonight in heaven!

Jay WAS Kansas City Jazz. He was my favorite!! I loved Man from Muskcogee among others. My thoughts and prayers to all of his family. I lost my brother this week. He was also a musican. I guess God needed them for his heavenly band and chorus. Love and prayers to you.