Mose Allison

The Mose Allison installment in Atlantic's Jazz Anthology series of 1970 is superior to most in that line simply on the grounds of time. Since Allison's songs were usually brief, Atlantic was able to fit 12 of them onto a single LP and thus provide a wider selection of his output, unlike others in that series that included only five or six tracks, making it serve as a pretty good capsule introduction to one of American music's most idiosyncratic individualists. Many of his most famous songs are here – "Your Mind Is on Vacation," "New Parchman," "I'm the Wild Man," "I Don't Worry About a Thing," and "Your Molecular Structure," along with covers like "Rollin' Stone" and a rushed live remake of his biggest "hit," Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son".

Mose Allison - My Backyard (1990) {Blue Note CDP 7 93840 2 rec 1989}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 269 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1990 Blue Note | CDP 7 93840 2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Blues / Piano

Mose Allison's career in his golden and quite fruitful years has yielded many surprises and challenges, not the least of which is this delightful offering. He continues to write attractive, bouncy, and fun tunes carried by his signature roiling piano style and sly lyrics. For this effort, producer and Allison disciple Ben Sidran hooked him up with musicians from the modern New Orleans jazz scene, including Astral Project members – the extraordinary drummer John Vidacovich, tenor saxophonist Tony Dagradi, and guitarist Steve Masakowski.

Mose Allison - Lessons In Living (1982) {Discovery Records 71014 rel 1994}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 240 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1982, 1994 Elektra-Musician / Discovery Records 71014
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Blues / Vocal Jazz / Piano

Recorded in a live setting in 1982 – the same year as his Middle Class White Boy album – Lessons in Living is a mixed bag. The material is terrific, and Mose Allison is in typically fine form. The issue lies more with the "all-star" band assembled for the date: bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Billy Cobham, and soloists Eric Gale (guitarist) and Lou Donaldson ( alto saxophonist). For starters, Allison didn't need a large band –or any band, really – to shine. Though he had been absent from the recording scene for six years until that point, he had continued to perform live and his chops as both a pianist and a singer are stellar.