Jay McShann; Helped Shape Kansas City Jazz, Blues Sound

He was planning to move to Omaha in 1936 when his bus stopped for two hours in Kansas City. Mr. McShann walked into a club, heard the music and never left. Within two days, he found work.

His bands rivaled those of Basie and Andy Kirk and, in addition to Parker, included such well-regarded musicians as bassist Gene Ramey, drummer Gus Johnson and saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, who wrote "Night Train."

After serving in the Army in World War II, Mr. McShann settled in Los Angeles, where he helped launch the career of singer Jimmy Witherspoon. By 1950, Mr. McShann had returned to Kansas City, where he owned a trash-hauling business and limousine service for a few years. By the 1970s, his career picked up, and his engaging singing and piano playing remained in demand around the world for decades.

He was featured in a documentary about his life in 1978 and one about Kansas City jazz in 1980. His 2003 recording, "Goin' to Kansas City," was nominated for a Grammy Award.

A broad-shouldered man with a sonorous speaking voice and a gift for anecdote, Mr. McShann appeared in Ken Burns's 10-part jazz series in 2000 and in a 2003 documentary on the blues directed by Clint Eastwood.

In an Associated Press interview three years ago, Mr. McShann described the lasting appeal of the music and the city he came to embody.

"You'd hear some cat play, and somebody would say, 'This cat, he sounds like he's from Kansas City.' It was the Kansas City style.

"They knew it on the East Coast. They knew it on the West Coast. They knew it up north, and they knew it down south."

Survivors include his manager and longtime companion, Thelma Adams, also known as Marianne McShann; three daughters from an early marriage; and several grandchildren.