Jay McShann Rhythm Section Downbeat Scan Text:
New York – Here they are, beating it out at the Savoy in Harlem. Jay McShann (at the piano) and his rhythm section include Leonard Enois, guitar; Eugene (Pops) Ramey, bass, and Gus Johnson, drums. Playing the Savoy last month, McShann and his barrelhouse Kansas City crew reportedly “carved” Lucky Millinder’s band right off the bandstand. The McShann’s Confessin’ the Blues is the biggest-selling Decca sepia series discing in history. Arsene Pic.
Jay McShann’s Rhythm Section At the Savoy
This scan features the powerhouse Jay McShann rhythm section—McShann (piano), Gene Ramey (bass), Gus Johnson (drums), Leonard Enois (guitar) —during the band’s historic first run at the Savoy Ballroom, which began on February 13, 1942, and wrapped up in late June 1942.
At the time, they were the “underdogs” from Kansas City, but they famously “cut” the legendary Lucky Millinder Orchestra right on their home turf. At the Savoy, bands often battled from opposite stands, and the McShann rhythm section proved they could out-swing the established house favorites.
This visit also marked the first major New York splash for a young Charlie “Yardbird” Parker. This was not Charlie Parker’s first time in NYC (he had visited in 1939), but it was his first major breakthrough. While the band held down the Savoy, Bird was on the loose after the gigs at smoke filled after-hours sessions at Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s Uptown House, trading ideas with Dizzy Gillespie that would soon change jazz.
The momentum from their Savoy residency led the McShann band straight into the studio on July 2, 1942, for a session just before the national “Petrillo” recording ban. They cut four legendary sides that day:
“The Jumpin’ Blues” (featuring Bird’s iconic solo)
“Sepian Bounce”
“Lonely Boy Blues”
“Say Forward, I’ll March”
Hear Jay McShann, his piano, rhythm section, orchestra and more legendary jazz musicians on the Swingmusic.org Big Band Era jazz radio stream. Explore more scans in our Swing Era Magazine Scan Archive while you listen.