Review: Jay McShann Hootie Blues

Jay McShann' Hootie blues contains mostly fast playing piano, more hootie Jazz than anything. "Yes Sir that's my baby" is instrumental but McShann makes available to the listener the penned title, hence giving the vocals to whomever is captivated. Later, McShann does the same thing in "Deed I do"; this is how he pulls in his audience, and he does it with be-bop swift.

McShann speaks the most in "When the Lights go out", "Love to watch you when you walk that walk/love to hear you when you talk that talk/you know exactly what I'm talking about/when the lights go out." He has every reason to swoon those females, and does so eloquently in "My Chile" as well. One can see McShann strolling along in Chile, shouting "Baby, Hi. Don’t you hear me calling you?"

McShann's slows down the pace of his record with "I'll catch the sun and I'll never give it back" and one can imagine he is still trying to win that Grammy in which he was nominated for "Goin' to Kansas City." It is a true Blues hoot, more so than any of the other be-bop songs on the album regardless it makes for a fitting break.

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