Jay McShann's animated piano style, a kin of Fats Waller's ever-mischievous ivory-tickling, made him one of the leading lights of the burgeoning Kansas City swing scene. He arrived in the mid-1930s, playing beside Charlie Parker in Buster Smith's band. By 1941, McShann was leading the city’s top band, one which included singer Walter Brown, and a dynamic saxophone section led by the fast-developing and revolutionary talent of Parker. Following the war, McShann moved to the west coast, where he discovered young singer Jimmy Witherspoon. After a quiet couple of decades, McShann re-emerged in the 1970s, continuing to record vivacious records at a heady clip well into his 80s.