When
Charlie Parker first came to New York in 1942, he was a sideman in
Jay McShann's big band. Every jazz fan knows what happened after that --
Parker changed the world and
McShann became a footnote in
Parker's biography. That's too bad, and not just for him; if the 1978 session remastered and reissued on this disc is anything to go by,
McShann had much more to offer the world than his role as caregiver to the inventor of bebop. Leading an all-star cast that includes saxophonist
Paul Quinichette, the ubiquitous
Milt Hinton on bass, and a young, up-and-coming guitarist named
John Scofield,
McShann teaches an entire course on the history of blues-based jazz, going from his own "Confessin' the Blues" through "Hootie Blues" (which he co-wrote with
Parker and
Walter Brown) and an intensely swinging version of
Count Basie's "Jumpin' at the Woodside." He goes off on a welcome tangent with
Pete Johnson's sweet stride ballad "Just for You" and comes on home with the boogie-woogie composition "'Fore Day Rider" and Leiber and Stoller's "Kansas City." Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson