Oklahoma Musicians

Jazz history

Jay McShann

Oklahoma Historical Society and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Encyclopedia of the Great Plains identify McShann with Muskogee and as a pianist and bandleader who developed in Oklahoma before leading a Kansas City band associated with Charlie Parker and other jazz musicians. OHS notes that birth-year claims differ among references.

County navigation follows places named in the source records. A city crossing county boundaries can link to more than one county; this does not establish an exact historical location, birthplace or current residence.

Oklahoma connection

OHS documents Muskogee childhood and early development; the Great Plains reference gives Muskogee birth and January 12, 1916.

Musical work and relationships

Pianist; bandleader; Kansas City band; Charlie Parker association; Oklahoma-to-Kansas City jazz chronology.

Hall of Fame account

The Hall catalog lists Jay McShann as a pianist and band leader inducted in 1989.

Evidence and remaining questions

Preserve the 1909/1916 birth-year conflict; do not publish a single exact birth year without choosing and documenting a source hierarchy.

Sources

  1. www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry
  2. plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.afam.030.html
  3. www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/12/10/jay-mcshann/33da6ee5-d556-40fa-b06a-09aa32282597/
  4. daveratcliffepiano.com/McShannCollection-UKMCarchive.pdf
  5. www.okjazz.org/inductees/

Related source accounts

These records use the same display name in different source contexts. They remain separate accounts.