Search - Jay Mcshann :: Vine Street Boogie

Humbly Hootie

swampshaka | New Orleans, Louisiana | 01/15/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although Jay McShann had been recording for over forty years by the time of this 1974 session, he amply demonstrates that through time he'd lost nothing in the way of dexterity. From the get go we hear how inspired McShann was to be playing before the large, attentive and equally enthusiastic crowd at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The only complaint I have in this thoroughly enjoyable set is the barely audible vocal on track #1, a problem which is somewhat rectified by the time of Hootie's second vocal attempt but never completely to my satisfaction. Amongst the goodies which we're treated to along the way are swingin' version's of Ellington's "Satin Doll" and "I'm Beggining To See The Light", but what this disc really is, is a solo piano demonstration of McShann's strong blues and boogie-woogie based foundations. I watched a documentary recently where McShann spoke of the early Kansas City day's and the labeling of musical styles, I believe his comments were something to the effect of, "I never thought of it in terms of blues or jazz, it was just the music that we played". I find it interesting that McShann didn't differentiate between musical genres, that it was all just part of the musicial landscape of the times, part of the livelihood and lifestyle of any good performer who was expected to be able to perform one genre of music as equally, soulfully and indiscriminately as the next. I have a sneaking suspicion that most of the intellectualizing concerning the categorization of musical syles was contrived by the music critics. Call him blues, call him jazz, call him boogie-woogie or big band swing, Jay McShann has humbly played it all for well over seventy years and continues to do so to this very day, irregardless of labels. RECOMMENDED!"