James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was a jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer.During the 1940s, McShann was at the forefront of blues and hard bop jazz musicians mainly from Kansas City. He assembled his own big band, with musicians that included some of the most influential artists of their time, including Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster and Walter Brown. His kind of music became known as "the Kansas City sound".