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Mose Allison Dies at 89
NEA JAZZ MASTER MOSE JOHN ALLISON
Jr., a distinguished pianist, inspired lyricist and
communicative singer, died of natural causes in
Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Nov. 15, four
days after his 89th birthday.
Allison’s most enduring contribution will
be his wry, sardonic songs that entered 20th
century pop vernacular through interpretations
by such artists and bands as The Who
(“Young Man Blues”), John Mayall and Eric
Clapton (“Parchman Farm”), Bonnie Raitt
(“Everybody’s Crying Mercy,” also covered by
Elvis Costello and Karrin Allyson), Leon Russell
(“I’m Smashed”) and Van Morrison (the CD Tell
Me Something, The Songs Of Mose Allison).
The lyrics are informed, his biographer,
Patti Jones, wrote in One Man’s Blues: The
Life and Times of Mose Allison, by “the folklore,
characters, life and aphorisms” of rural
Tippo, Mississippi, where he grew up. Allison
sang them with minimum vibrato in a pure,
laconic voice drenched in blues connotations.
He accompanied and signified upon his stories
with graceful piano lines that were evocative
of what he called “the neo-New Orleans classic
jazz style” and were influenced by the likes of
pianists Nat “King” Cole, Erroll Garner and Al
Haig, as well as saxophonist Lester Young and
trumpeter/vocalist Louis Armstrong.
In 1956, Allison moved north to New York
City from Louisiana, where he had arrived in
1950 after two matriculations at the University
of Mississippi interrupted by an Army stint.
After a year of on the Gulf Coast, he enrolled
at Louisiana State University, where he earned
a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy
in 1952. Once settled in New York, he appeared
as a sideman with Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Bob
Brookmeyer, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and
Chet Baker while developing his songcraft and
establishing his solo career.
In 1957, Allison signed with Prestige, for
which he recorded the influential LPs Back
Country Suite, Mose Allison Sings, Young Man
Mose and Seventh Son. Between 1959 and 1961,
he recorded three albums for Columbia, then
moved to Atlantic, his label until 1976. In 1982,
Allison cut Middle Class White Boy for Elektra/
Musician; in 1987, he signed with Blue Note, for
which he recorded My Backyard and The Earth
Wants You.
The consequential impact of Allison’s early
albums is evident in the detailed testimonies
that Jones elicited from his acolytes.
“I never heard anyone as cool as [Allison],”
Raitt said, recalling her impressions as a
California teenager. “He seemed to be the epitome
of everything I wanted to get into. He had
this laid-back style. His music was bluesy, and
he was singing about social issues that were
important to me.”
“All I ever wanted to do was play,” Allison
remarked to his biographer. “I was always more
concerned with staying busy and earning the
respect of my peers than making a lot of money.
I’m quite fortunate that I’ve been able to make a
good living doing what I want to do.”
Survivors include Audre Allison, his wife
of 65 years, three daughters, a son and two
grandchildren.
—Ted Panken
MICHAEL JACKSON
Mose Allison
FEBRUARY 2017 DOWNBEAT 19