Jay McShann:
FROM THE '30S TO THE '00S,
WHAT AN ODYSSEY IT HAS BEEN

by John Leisenring


In his masterful book In Search of Duende, Frederico Garcia Lorca states that duende is "a momentary burst of inspiration, the blush of all that is truly alive, all that the performer is creating at a certain moment."

In musical circles, duende has also been used to describe soul, as in a "soulful" performance. Aretha has it. Jimi and Miles had it. Bird must have been born with it.

Hopefully the Spanish language will permit the expression duende elegante, because on the first Saturday in November, KC's Folly Theater was filled to the rafters with elegance and inspiration. And yes, plenty of soul.

Yet, even "inspired elegance" seems too pale a description of Jay McShann's towering success at the Folly. It was billed to be a celebration of "Swing - Kansas City Style!", and that it certainly was. But in many ways it was so much more. Jay McShann is, and always has been, far more than just a major player of the music that bears this city's name.

---

On November 4, the wildly riffing shout chorus of "Jump the Blues," which closed the first half of the concert, was pure Kansas City. And, the blues-inspired duende that filled each and every composition before and after was further testimony to the magnificence of the idiom. But, with his first solo on the night's opener ("Yes Sir, That's My Baby"), Jay McShann issued aural instructions to his supporting musicians -- and notification to all listeners -- that this music, so firmly rooted in tradition, was to have a modern freshness as well. And indeed it did.

(An aside: If one were to question the harmonic excursions of guitarist Rod Fleeman as being "too modern" for a concert of Kansas City Jazz -- as was overheard from one audience member during intermission -- then let it be stated that Jay started it! And, as the night unfolded, he insisted upon it.)

Jay McShann at the Folly Theater November 4, 2000

Backed by Kansas City jazz artists Rod Fleeman, bassist Gerald Spaits, and drummer Todd Strait, plus Canadian soprano saxophonist Jim Galloway, McShann sang and played and practically danced his way through two sets of the finest music heard in a while. He remains, as both a pianist and a vocalist, an astonishingly eclectic musician, presenting all of the expected echoes, including that of boogie and stride, and suggestions of the florid lines of Tatum and Peterson. There was even one romp with the style and flair of Professor Longhair.

But one also finds evidence of Monk and Hancock in McShann's playing. Jay has indeed done his homework. Yet, when he sings, it is pure Jay McShann, with references only to Louis, Lady Day and Big Joe Turner. It is quite likely that he has always been much more of an innovator than he is given credit for.

A nod to the Folly Theater is also in order here. If a venue can exhibit duende, then the Folly certainly does. The newly renovated theater added volumes to the McShann concert, both aurally and visually. The sound is warm and alive, and the lighting enhances the music perfectly by allowing the listener/viewer to experience both the expanse of a concert hall and the intimacy of a jazz club -- without the cash register's jangle. A heartfelt Bravo! to all involved.

---

Jay McShann's Folly Theater performance also marked the end of what must been a remarkable week for him -- a week that began with a warm, late-October sun shining down on a Monday morning crowd that had assembled to dedicate the "Jay McShann Pavilion" at 18th and Vine.

Members of the Paseo Academy Jazz Band were on hand to provide an aural connection to the echoes that still swirl around the nooks and crannies of the Historic Jazz District (is there another high school band in the area that consistently swings as hard as this one does?). And tucked into the shade of the American Jazz Museum, lined up like the dignitaries they were, sat Missouri Senator Kit Bond, Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes and former KC Mayor Emanuel Cleaver, among others.

And, of course, there was the pavilion's namesake himself, Mr. Jay McShann, sitting Buddha-like, and maybe even feeling mildly embarrassed as he listened to the various speakers sing his praises. (As former mayor Cleaver noted, one of the many strengths of the district is the fact that "at any given time, world class artists such as Jay McShann can be seen strolling the streets, as if the ensuing 60 years had somehow not taken place.")

As all in attendance would certainly agree, naming the pavilion for Jay was highly appropriate, for Jay's legacy is as eclectic as his music, and he remains one of the most significant of the legions of musicians who have made Kansas City Jazz so historically important. Jay's music has been played the world over, and jazz fans automatically associate his name with his adopted hometown. (It is an unusual documentary that does not utilize his skills as an interview. To this day, he patiently tells and retells the tales and yarns we have learned to know and love.)

Dr. Rowena Stewart and Jay McShann on October 30, 2000

Jay McShann has also been long associated with jazz education, performing with and encouraging young musicians as they seek to play the music they too have come to love. One is just as likely to find Jay sitting in with student musicians at Paseo Academy as UMKC, for example, and his presence is always a joy and inspiration.

After the dedication, Dr. Rowena Stewart, Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum, voiced her enthusiasm for the new pavilion, and the man for whom it is named.

"Whose name better represents (the pavilion's) intent? And that of a major new destination for students and listeners and musicians? And, perhaps most importantly, the neighbors of the museum and of the 18th and Vine district? Jay's name has always been a major part of the museum and of the district, and this is an important and wonderful new way for him to live on in the work of both."

---

"I just play the music and hope for the best," Jay told me when we sat down to chat after the pavilion dedication. It is an approach that, once again, worked quite well on November 4, as it has for the past six decades.

It was also easy to note at the Folly, after just a few compositions, that Jay's ears are just as wide open and curious now as they must have been when Jay first arrived in Kansas City -- a fact that is not only remarkable in itself, but one that remains a constant inspiration to all. (Overheard in the audience was the memorable quote: "I don't know how long he's been around, but he ain't old.")

Age notwithstanding, the bottom line remains the quality of the art. And with Jay, it is his art that continues to inspire. His elegance and the duende of his music fill to overflowing any room in which he performs, whether the vehicle is a hard driving swing number, or a ballad dripping with emotion (like Jay's poignant reading of "Once Upon a Time").

So, in the fall of 2000 Jay McShann is still taking care of that bottom line, and with plenty of duende elegante to spare.

And, 60-plus years later, his music is still nothin' but soul.



RETURN TO DECEMBER/JANUARY 2001 MAIN INDEX


© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.