Mose Allison

As a singer, pianist, and songwriter, Mose Allison combined blues and bebop with a sardonic lyrical approach. Born in Tippo, MS, in 1927, Allison started playing piano at the age of five. Upon moving to New York City in 1956, he played with cool jazz giants like Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims, and released his first album, Back Country Suite, the following year. His laconic singing style proved to be the perfect vehicle for his mordantly witty lyrics and his reinterpretations of classic blues tunes. Starting in the ’60s, Allison’s tunes were taken up by a long string of rockers, including Blue Cheer (“Parchman Farm”), The Who (“Young Man Blues”), The Clash (“Look Here”), and Elvis Costello (“Everybody’s Crying Mercy”). Allison would maintain an active performance schedule for much of his life, but after 1997’s Gimcracks and Gewgaws album, he took a 12-year hiatus from recording. His Joe Henry-produced The Way of the World, released in 2010, was his last album before retiring. Allison passed away in 2016 at 89, leaving a legacy as one of jazz’s most respected songwriters and pianists.