Mose Allison - My BackYard

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:47
Size: 101,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:15)  1. Ever Since I Stole The Blues
(2:57)  2. You Call It Joggin'
(4:19)  3. Big Brother
(3:25)  4. Sentimental Fool
(3:45)  5. Stranger In My Home Town
(4:13)  6. Was
(4:13)  7. Gettin' Paid Waltz
(3:05)  8. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
(3:32)  9. That's Your Red Wagon
(3:52) 10. Long Song
(3:26) 11. Sleepy Lagoon
(3:38) 12. My Backyard

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. Veteran bassist Bill Huntington rounds out this very talented ensemble that happily works with Allison step by step to produce some of the singer/songwriter/instrumentalist's most enjoyable music, a tall order but easily recognizable once the listening commences. John D. Loudermilk's "You Call It Joggin'," with the retort "but I call it runnin' around," is one of the all-time classic skeptical lyric lines, as applicable to contemporary lifestyles as anything in the urban lexicon. His revisit of "That's Your Red Wagon" is another timeless tale of emotional baggage; Percy Mayfield's "Stranger In My Own Hometown" is purely autobiographical; while "Sleepy Lagoon" is an easygoing, romantic fantasy theme. Of the eight Allison originals, "The Getting Paid Waltz" depicts every musician's nightmare playing in a nightclub, impatiently waiting for the cheapskate owner eventually to pay up. "Was" is a light waltz for has-beens; "Sentimental Fool" talks about the paradox that he "messed around and got humanized"; and the New Orleans shuffle "Big Brother" including smart tradeoffs with Dagradi is a post-technology cautionary tale, even more relevant in modern times with the advent of Skype, Twitter, and Facebook. 

A statement on the music industry and jazz in particular, the slinky "Long Song" delineates in four minutes what need and not need be present in popular commercial or creative progressive music, and is a perfect companion to his song "My Top 40 Hit Record." Allison is always a delight to hear, a consistently marvelous piano player, and in very good company with this expert band that suits his style and personality perfectly. My Backyard is one of the best records of his career. ~ Michael G.Nastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-backyard-mw0000655065

Personnel:  Bass – Bill Huntington;  Drums – John Vidacovich;  Guitar – Steve Masakowski;  Piano – Mose Allison;  Tenor Saxophone – Tony Dagradi;  Vocals – Mose Allison

My BackYard

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Mose Allison - The Word From Mose

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:55
Size: 68.5 MB
Styles: Bop, Jazz-blues
Year: 1964/1998
Art: Front

[2:23] 1. Fool Killer
[2:59] 2. One Of These Days
[2:11] 3. Look Here
[2:50] 4. Days Like This
[2:12] 5. Your Red Wagon
[1:53] 6. I'm The Wild Man
[2:58] 7. Rollin' Stone
[3:01] 8. New Parchman
[2:44] 9. Don't Forget To Smile
[2:30] 10. I'm Not Talking
[4:09] 11. Lost Mind

This iconoclastic performer has sometimes been described as a country blues player, perhaps leading to images of a blind man standing on a corner playing a guitar with a bottleneck slide. In reality, Mose Allison is from a much more cosmopolitan tradition, and the country blues adage comes from attempts to describe the sound he gets playing light, swinging jazz with a distinctly rural, Southern influence. This album, from one of many he recorded for Atlantic, actually contains examples of him taking material from the real country blues heritage and reworking it into his own style, to brilliant effect. His "New Parchman Farm" is a fantastic piece, as he changes what was once a stark, depressing prison blues into something else again. Perhaps this version would be more suited to white-collar criminals such as the Watergate mob, basking in upper-class prisons complete with tennis courts. At any rate, this is a performance that only the most hardened individual would be able to listen to without a smile cracking their face. Like most of Allison's releases, this one suffers from a handful of tracks that although not quite throwaway, surely lack the substance of the best songs here. ~Eugene Chadbourne

The Word From Mose

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Mose Allison - The Collection (2-Disc Set)

This two disc set collects several of Mose Allison’s key tracks from the 1950s, with the first disc, which includes the pianist’s classic versions of “Parchman Farm” and “Young Man’s Blues,” functioning as a sort of “greatest hits” while the second disc features his debut LP Back Country Suite from 1957, which was issued by Prestige Records, along with his first record for Columbia Records, 1959’s The Transfiguration of Hiram Brown. It makes for a great introduction to a one-of-a-kind artist. ~Steve Leggett

Album: The Collection (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:18
Size: 117.4 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues, Bop, Piano & vocal jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:36] 1. The Seventh Son
[1:40] 2. Eyesight To The Blind
[3:09] 3. Do Nothin’ ‘till You Hear From Me
[3:30] 4. Lost Mind
[2:47] 5. I’ve Got A Right To Cry
[3:13] 6. Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand
[3:16] 7. Parchman Farm
[2:28] 8. If You Live
[2:46] 9. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
[2:59] 10. One Room Country Shack
[2:30] 11. I Hadn’t Anyone ‘till You
[1:23] 12. Young Man’s Blues
[2:25] 13. That’s Alright
[2:32] 14. Baby Please Don’t Go
[1:53] 15. ‘deed I Do
[2:21] 16. I Love The Life I Life, I Live The Life I Love
[3:29] 17. Fool’s Paradise
[2:12] 18. You’re A Sweetheart
[2:10] 19. Mad With You
[1:50] 20. I Ain’t Got Nobody

The Collection (Disc 1) mc
The Collection (Disc 1) zippy

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Album: The Collection (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:59
Size: 174.0 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues, Bop, Piano & vocal jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:08] 1. New Ground
[1:50] 2. Train
[1:47] 3. Warm Night
[1:28] 4. Blues
[1:24] 5. Saturday
[2:15] 6. Scamper
[1:38] 7. January
[2:03] 8. Promised Land
[1:23] 9. Spring Song
[1:38] 10. Highway 49
[3:00] 11. Blueberry Hill
[3:46] 12. You Won’t Let Me Go
[3:53] 13. I Thought About You
[3:45] 14. In Salah
[4:08] 15. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place
[3:24] 16. Yardbird Suite
[4:37] 17. Creek Bank
[3:16] 18. Dirt Road
[2:28] 19. City Home
[1:38] 20. Cuttin' Out
[3:21] 21. Gotham Day
[4:26] 22. Gotham Night
[1:07] 23. Echo
[4:07] 24. The River
[0:46] 25. Finale
[3:46] 26. Crepuscular Air
[3:18] 27. A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
[3:24] 28. Am I Blue

The Collection (Disc 2) mc
The Collection (Disc 2) zippy

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Mose Allison - I Love The Life I Live

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:35
Size: 102.1 MB
Styles: Bop, Jazz-blues
Year: 1960/2013
Art: Front

[2:21] 1. I Love The Life I Live
[3:11] 2. News
[3:30] 3. Fool's Paradise
[3:53] 4. You Turned The Tables On Me
[3:57] 5. Isobel
[2:12] 6. You're A Sweatheart
[3:12] 7. Night Ride
[3:33] 8. Path
[2:10] 9. Mad With You
[3:31] 10. Hittin' On One
[1:52] 11. I Ain't Got Nobody
[4:24] 12. Can't We Be Friends
[3:19] 13. The Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
[3:24] 14. Am I Blue

When this album was recorded in 1960, this laconic Mississippian wasn't the brilliant lyricist he would later become. But he had great taste. The title track, written by Willie Dixon, sure sounds like a Mose song; "Fool's Paradise" is another gem. Mose's four tunes are instrumentals. The production by Teo Macero makes it feel like you're perched on one end of the piano bench. This album was released with two others in a delightful 1994 collection called High Jinks. ~Mark Allan

I Love The Life I Live mc
I Love The Life I Live zippy

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Mose Allison - Down Home Piano

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:09
Size: 89,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. Dinner On The Ground
(3:47)  2. Crepuscular Air
(3:57)  3. Mule
(4:39)  4. Creek Bank
(3:27)  5. Town
(4:08)  6. Devil In The Cane Field
(3:33)  7. The Minstrels
(4:06)  8. Moon And Cypress
(3:04)  9. Carnival
(4:05) 10. Mojo Woman

Although Mose Allison is perhaps best known for his enjoyably idiosyncratic vocal style, he is first and foremost a marvelous piano player with a unique style pitched somewhere between a New Orleans bordello and the rhythmic and harmonic experimentation of Thelonious Monk or Sun Ra. This well-chosen 1966 compilation (released after Allison had split for Atlantic Records) pulls together ten of his best instrumentals from four of his six Prestige albums, and it makes a strong case for Allison as one of the most inventive piano players and composers of his generation. 

The selection runs from the definitive performance of Allison's signature ballad "Crepuscular Air" (which foreshadows nearly the entire career of West Coast cool pianist Vince Guaraldi) to the witty, technically impressive and musically joyous post-bop workouts "Devil in the Cane Field" and "The Minstrels." Throughout, Allison's interplay with his longtime bassist Addison Farmer is fantastic; Allison's left-hand walking bass runs are usually in counterpoint to Farmer's inspired comping, adding greatly to the songs' rhythmic complexity. Mostly, however, Down Home Piano is just enormous fun to listen to. ~  Stewart Mason  https://www.allmusic.com/album/down-home-piano-mw0000593830

Personal : Piano – Mose Allison;  Bass – Addison Farme;  Drums – Nick Stabulas, Ronnie Free

Down Home Piano

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Mose Allison - V-8 Ford Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:27
Size: 85.8 MB
Styles: Vocal & Piano jazz
Year: 1961/1994
Art: Front

[2:10] 1. V-8 Ford Blues
[1:26] 2. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
[2:32] 3. Baby, Please Don't Go
[1:40] 4. Hey, Good Lookin'
[2:23] 5. I Love The Life I Live
[1:49] 6. I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me)
[1:53] 7. Back On The Corner
[2:43] 8. Life Is Suicide
[1:54] 9. 'deed I Do
[2:31] 10. Ask Me Nice
[2:10] 11. You're A Sweatheart
[2:11] 12. Mad With You
[4:47] 13. High Jinks
[3:52] 14. So Rare
[3:21] 15. The Hills

Besides cool playing and his uniquely smoky singing, Mose has great taste in material. "Hey Good Lookin'" fits right in with revisited versions of "I Love the Life I Live," "I Ain't Got Nobody" and "Baby Please Don't Go," complete with what the singer himself calls his distinctive "involuntary groan" during the piano solo. Teo Macero's intimate production makes it feel like you're right there in the studio. This album was released with two others in a delightful 1994 collection called High Jinks. ~Mark Allen

V-8 Ford Blues

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Mose Allison - Complete 1957-1962 Vocal Sides

Size: 123,7+130,4 MB
Time: 52:24+55:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. If You Live (2:31)
02. The Seventh Son (2:37)
03. Eyesight To The Blind (1:42)
04. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me (3:16)
05. Lost Mind (3:34)
06. I Got A Right To Cry (2:53)
07. Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand (3:18)
08. Parchman Farm (3:20)
09. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (2:50)
10. One Room Country Shack (3:05)
11. I Hadn't Anyone Till You (2:34)
12. Young Man's Blues (1:28)
13. That's All Right (2:26)
14. Baby, Please Don't Go (2:35)
15. 'deed I Do (1:56)
16. Mad With You (2:10)
17. Fool's Paradise (3:36)
18. I Love The Life I Live (LP Version) (2:22)
19. You're A Sweetheart (2:11)
20. I Ain't Got Nobody (1:50)

CD 2:
01. V-8 Ford Blues (2:14)
02. Hey, Good Lookin' (1:40)
03. Life Is Suicide (2:43)
04. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (1:26)
05. Ask Me Nice (2:31)
06. Back On The Corner (1:52)
07. If You're Going To The City (3:47)
08. I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues (3:54)
09. Swingin' Machine (2:27)
10. Stop This World (3:26)
11. The Song Is Ended (2:36)
12. Meet Me At No Special Place (2:33)
13. It Didn't Turn Out That Way (2:44)
14. I Don't Worry About A Thing (2:15)
15. City Home (2:31)
16. I Love The Life I Live (UK EP Version) (2:21)
17. Your Mind Is On Vacation (2:38)
18. The Well (3:20)
19. Idyll (4:16)
20. Stand By (3:58)

This release contains pianist/singer/composer/trumpeter Mose Allison’s complete vocal tracks from his recording debut as a singer in 1957 up to 1962.

Born in 1927 and recently deceased on November 15, 2016 at the age of 89,Allison has been described as one of the fi nest songwriters in 20th-century blues. A highly influential composer, his songs have been recorded by numerous artists, including Pete Townshend, who cut Mose’s “Young Man’s Blues” for The Who’s Live at Leeds album in 1970. John Mayall was one of dozens of musicians who recorded Allison’s classic “Parchman Farm”, and Georgie Fame also performed many of his songs. Leon Russell (“I’m Smashed”) and Bonnie Raitt (“Everybody’s Crying’ Mercy”) also cut popular versions of Allison’s tunes.

Among the rarities presented here is an alternative take of “I Love the Life I Live” (issued only in the UK on an EP). Three brilliant instrumental sides from the same sessions have been added as a bonus.

PERSONNEL:
MOSE ALLISON, vocals & piano on all tracks, plus:

Featuring: ADDISON FARMER, HENRY GRIMES, BILL CROW (bass), FRANK ISOLA, NICK STABULAS, OSIE JOHNSON, PAUL MOTIAN (drums), among others.

Recorded in New Jersey and New York between 1957 and 1962.

(*) BONUS TRACKS (CD 2, 18-20):
Instrumental sides from the same sessions.

Complete 1957-1962 Vocal Sides CD 1
Complete 1957-1962 Vocal Sides CD 2

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Mose Allison - Hello There, Universe

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 36:09

Size: 82.8 MB

Styles: Bop, Piano jazz

Year: 1970/2006

Art: Front

[2:14] 1. Somebody Gotta Move

[4:55] 2. Monsters Of The Id

[2:38] 3. I Don't Want Much

[3:48] 4. Hello There, Universe

[3:42] 5. No Exit

[2:23] 6. Wild Man On The Loose

[4:53] 7. Blues In The Night

[2:52] 8. I'm Smashed

[6:21] 9. Hymn To Everything

[2:17] 10. On The Run

Alto Saxophone, Flute – Jerome Richardson; Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams, Seldon Powell; Bass – Bob Cranshaw, John Williams; Drums – Joe Cocuzzo; Tenor Saxophone – Joe Farrell, Joe Henderson; Trumpet – Jimmy Nottingham, Richard Williams; Vocals, Piano, Organ – Mose Allison.

This obscure Mose Allison LP has the pianist/singer/lyricist using a larger band than usual, an octet with Richard Williams and Jimmy Nottingham on trumpets, altoist Jerome Richardson, either Joe Henderson or Joe Farrell on tenor, Pepper Adams or Seldon Powell on baritone, Bob Cranshaw and John Williams on bass, and drummer Joe Cucuzzo. The truth is, most of the other musicians are really not needed, for their solos take away from Allison's vocals and piano solos. Allison (who also plays a bit of organ) contributed nine of the ten songs on the album (all but "Blues in the Night"), best known of which are "Hello There, Universe" and "Wild Man on the Loose," although there are no hits or future standards included. This album, therefore, is a gap-filler rather than an essential recording. ~Scott Yanow

Hello There, Universe    

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Mose Allison - Your Mind Is On Vacation

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz

Year: 1976

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 39:34

Size: 91,1 MB

Art: Front

(2:37)  1. Your Mind Is On Vacation

(2:56)  2. Foolin' Myself

(3:40)  3. No Matter

(4:33)  4. One Of These Days

(2:28)  5. I Feel So Good

(2:59)  6. Fires Of Spring

(2:47)  7. If You Only Knew

(4:01)  8. I Can't See For Lookin'

(3:24)  9. What Do You Do After You Ruin Your Life

(4:11) 10. Swingin' Machine

(3:33) 11. Perfect Moment

(2:17) 12. Your Molecular Structure

It seems strange to realize that this was Mose Allison's only recording during the 1973-1981 period. In addition to his trio with bassist Jack Hannah and drummer Jerry Granelli, such guests as altoist David Sanborn, Al Cohn, and Joe Farrell on tenors and trumpeter Al Porcino pop up on a few selections. However, Mose Allison is easily the main star, performing ten of his originals (including a remake of the famous title cut, "What Do You Do After You Ruin Your Life," and "Swingin' Machine") plus renditions of the standards "Foolin' Myself" and "I Can't See for Lookin'."~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/your-mind-is-on-vacation-mw0000051625

Personnel: Mose Allison (vocals, piano); David Sanborn (alto saxophone); Al Cohn, Joe Farrell (tenor saxophone); Al Porcino (trumpet); Jack Hannah (bass); Jerry Granelli (drums).

R.I.P.
Born: November 11, 1927 
Died: November 15, 2016

Your Mind Is On Vacation

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Mose Allison - Blues Pianist

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 62:08

Size: 142.3 MB

Styles: Jazz/blues piano

Year: 2014

Art: Front

[4:05] 1. Everything I Have Is Yours

[4:08] 2. Let Me See

[3:54] 3. I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues

[2:33] 4. The Song Is Ended

[2:15] 5. I Don't Worry About A Thing

[2:41] 6. It Didn't Turn Out That Way

[2:34] 7. Your Mind Is On Vacation

[3:46] 8. If You're Goin' To The City

[3:56] 9. Stand By

[4:15] 10. Idyll

[3:22] 11. Stop This World

[3:20] 12. The Well

[3:02] 13. New Parchman

[2:44] 14. Don't Forget To Smile

[2:52] 15. What's With You

[1:45] 16. Just Like Livin'

[2:40] 17. Everybody's Cryin' Mercy

[2:58] 18. Rollin' Stone

[2:33] 19. Meet Me At No Special Place

[2:34] 20. Seventh Son

In 2012 Mose was honored with a blues marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in his home town of Tippo, Mississippi.

Mose Allison, pianist/singer/composer, has been a major influence on musicians of the last 50 years and has spent a good deal of his life touring and playing in jazz rooms all over the world. His songs have been recorded by many, among them, The Who, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, The Clash and Diana Krall. His singular style, a unique blending of jazz and blues, and his profound lyrical wit, mark him as a true American original.

Blues Pianist

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Mose Allison - I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin'

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:15
Size: 67.0 MB
Styles: Jazz blues vocals, Piano blues
Year: 1968/2005
Art: Front

[1:44] 1. Just Like Livin'
[3:38] 2. City Home
[2:47] 3. If You're Goin' To The City
[2:28] 4. Now You See It
[2:07] 5. You Are My Sunshine
[2:07] 6. Your Molecular Structure
[2:32] 7. Look What You Made Me Do
[2:14] 8. If You Really Loved Me
[2:40] 9. Everybody's Cryin' Mercy
[2:50] 10. Feel So Good
[1:57] 11. Let It Come Down
[2:05] 12. Back On The Corner

Three years had gone by between this release and the previous Mose Allison outing on Atlantic, perhaps giving the artist time to concoct some of the really tasty lyrics he came up with. The opening track, "Just Like Livin'," alternates between absurd satire and to-the-point cynicism in a way that is completely unique to Allison, although many other artists have tried to imitate it. How many songwriters can sum up life in less than two minutes, after all? There are many other highlights as well, including the memorable structure of "City Home" and a rococo reworking of "You Are My Sunshine" that might cause a riot at a wedding if played as a request. A peak perhaps not only of this album but the entire Allison career is the ballad "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy," as powerful an indictment of hypocrisy as has ever been recorded. Bassist Red Mitchell is on hand with his fat but easy to digest sound, and he seems to prompt Allison to play aggressively. Some of the piano solos sound like they were rendered with various martial arts techniques. ~Eugene Chadbourne

I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin'

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Mose Allison - I Don't Worry About A Thing

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 32:26

Size: 74.3 MB

Styles: Hard bop, Piano jazz, Vocal jazz

Year: 1962/2005/2015

Art: Front

[2:15] 1. I Don't Worry About A Thing

[2:41] 2. It Didn't Turn Out That Way

[2:34] 3. Your Mind Is On Vacation

[4:08] 4. Let Me See

[4:05] 5. Everything I Have Is Yours

[3:56] 6. Stand By

[4:15] 7. Idyll

[3:20] 8. The Well

[2:33] 9. Meet Me At No Special Place

[2:33] 10. The Song Is Ended

I Don't Worry About A Thing

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The Al Cohn Quintet - Featuring Bob Brookmeyer

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:44
Size: 91.0 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1956/2005
Art: Front

[3:21] 1. The Lady Is A Tramp
[3:35] 2. Good Spirits
[4:19] 3. A Blues Serenade
[2:53] 4. Lazy Man Stomp
[2:46] 5. Ill Wind (You're Blowin' Me No Good)
[3:34] 6. Chloe
[3:41] 7. S-H-I-N-E
[2:34] 8. Back To Back
[3:47] 9. So Far So Good
[3:52] 10. Winter
[2:40] 11. I Should Care
[2:37] 12. Bunny Hunch

Recording Date: December 3-5, 1956. Bass – Teddy Kotick; Drums – Nick Stabulas; Piano – Mose Allison; Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn; Trombone – Bob Brookmeyer.

Al Cohn and Bob Brookmeyer appeared on a number of record dates together, each appearing as a sideman with the other, in addition to joint appearances on a number of Manny Albam-led sessions, among others. But this disc, initially issued by Coral on LP in 1957, was one of the hardest to acquire until its 2005 reissue as a limited-edition CD. With the assistance of pianist Mose Allison, bassist Teddy Kotick, and drummer Nick Stabulas in the rhythm section, Cohn and Brookmeyer inspire one another throughout the sessions. Brookmeyer contributed the upbeat "Good Spirits" and breezy "Lazy Man Stomp." Cohn's strong originals include the cool ballad "Winter" and the swinging "Back to Back." They also update a number of standards from earlier decades, including Brookmeyer's exotic setting of "Ill Wind" (a terrific feature for Cohn) and Cohn's surprisingly uptempo setting of the usually hackneyed "Chloe." Since this CD reissue will no longer be available after March 2008, cool jazz fans are advised not to miss this edition. ~Ken Dryden

Featuring Bob Brookmeyer

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Mose Allison - Local Color

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 35:58
Size: 82.4 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Piano jazz, Vocal jazz
Year: 1957/2006
Art: Front

[2:59] 1. Carnival
[3:20] 2. Parchman Farm
[3:42] 3. Crepuscular Air
[4:07] 4. Mojo Woman
[3:26] 5. Town
[3:14] 6. Trouble In Mind
[3:34] 7. Lost Mind
[5:37] 8. I'll Never Be Free
[3:15] 9. Don't Ever Say Goodbye
[2:40] 10. Ain't You A Mess

This CD reissue brings back Mose Allison's second of six Prestige recordings. Allison performs eight instrumentals in a trio with bassist Addison Farmer and drummer Nick Stabulas, displaying his unusual mixture of country blues and bebop and even taking an effective trumpet solo on "Trouble In Mind." However it is his vocals on "Lost Mind" and particularly the classic "Parchman Farm" that are most memorable. ~Scott Yanow

Local Color

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Mose Allison - Swingin' Machine

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz, Swing
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:36
Size: 78,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:31)  1. Swingin' Machine
(4:35)  2. Do It
(3:26)  3. Stop This World
(5:12)  4. Promenade
(3:50)  5. If You're Goin' To The City
(5:00)  6. Saritha
(3:57)  7. I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues
(5:02)  8. So Rare

Jazz fans may find this Mose Allison session unique among scads of releases from this laid-back, witty and original singer and pianist. Almost never found recording outside of the piano trio context, this album perhaps reveals the reason why: on a whole, adding horns to Allison's band just doesn't work that well. The trombonist Jimmy Knepper is of particular interest, in that he most often recorded under the intense leadership of Charles Mingus, a far cry from the loose and relaxed sound of Allison. His fellow hornman here is tenor saxophonist Jimmy Reider; not a very well-known jazzman but certainly competent in a swing style. If the leader had stuck to all vocal numbers this might have been a top drawer album. All the vocal tracks here are fine, with the song "Stop This World" rating among the best things this artist has recorded in a long career. It's the instrumental tracks that drag, however, since like any respectable pianist bandleader, Allison chooses to put the two horns out front for theme-solo-theme arrangements that would only be worth repeated listening if every other jazz performance ever recorded happened to vanish off the face of the earth. Allison's piano playing picked up some steam as the '60s wore on, so it is a shame he didn't revisit this concept at a later date. ~ Eugene Chadbourne  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/swingin-machine-mw0000662004

Personnel: Mose Allison (vocals, piano); Jimmy Reider (tenor saxophone); Jimmy Knepper (trombone); Addison Farmer (bass); Frankie Dunlop (drums).

Swingin' Machine

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Mose Allison - Ramblin' With Mose Allison

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:09
Size: 119.4 MB
Styles: Cool jazz, Vocal jazz
Year: 1958/2006
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. I Got A Right To Cry
[5:10] 2. Old Devil Moon
[3:30] 3. The Minstrels
[4:23] 4. You Belong To Me
[5:29] 5. Stranger In Paradise
[4:33] 6. The Kissin' Bug
[3:12] 7. Ramble
[3:56] 8. Saritha
[2:20] 9. Old Man John
[3:03] 10. Ingenue
[5:03] 11. Old Devil Moon (alternate take)
[5:51] 12. Stranger In Paradise (alternate take)
[3:27] 13. Ramble (alternate take)

Mose Allison's Ramblin' with Mose was released in 1958. Other than the opening track, a stellar read of Joe Liggins' blues "I Got a Right to Cry," this is an entirely instrumental album. Bassist Addison Farmer and drummer Ronnie Free accompany the pianist as he rips through "Stranger in Paradise" from the score of Kismet at a tempo that would make the composer dizzy; his "Old Devil Moon," moves through some Latin changes and even rhythmic figures before bringing the tune back to earth, and his own "Ramble" is a scorching back-country blues jaunt that offers some evidence of Allison's mighty left-hand skills. Allison displays absolutely brilliant instrumental prowess as both an arranger and as an improviser. His unique, often unorthodox interpretations of standards and pop songs set him apart from virtually every one of his peers. ~ Thom Jurek

Mose Allison (piano, vocals); Addison Farmer (bass instrument); Ronnie Free (drums).

Ramblin' With Mose Allison

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Mose Allison - The Way Of The World

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 34:33
Size: 79.1 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues vocals/piano
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:55] 1. My Brain
[3:24] 2. I Know You Didn't Mean It
[2:54] 3. Everybody Thinks You're An Angel
[2:27] 4. Let It Come Down
[2:26] 5. Modest Proposal
[2:52] 6. Crush
[2:44] 7. Some Right, Some Wrong
[2:46] 8. The Way Of The World
[3:17] 9. Ask Me Nice
[3:28] 10. Once In A While
[3:08] 11. I'm Alright
[2:06] 12. This New Situation

Mose Allison basically retired from studio recording after 1998’s dynamite Gimcracks and Gewgaws. Retired, that is, until producer Joe Henry met him in 2008 and dogged him until he graciously caved in. He coaxed Allison into his basement studio and cut the seven originals and five covers that became The Way of the World with a host of players from his own stable in five days. At 82, Allison is as smart, cagey, and inventive as ever. All but one of these cuts feature his weathered but still wiry dry baritone voice that exudes a trademark jazz singer cum beat poet’s phrasing. For anyone who’s seen him in the last decade -- or heard his jaw-dropping Live in London recordings -- his keyboard skills are sharp as an Argentine stiletto: give a listen to the lone instrumental, “Crush.” Allison's elastic harmonic sense is as beautifully unruly as Monk's, yet his improvisational ideas are carried by a nimble-fingered force worthy of Bud Powell. The opener, “My Brain,” is a smoking rewrite of Willie Dixon's “My Babe.” Allison reflects on the ever-changing intellectual capabilities of his gray matter while punching up the piano's middle register. The blues have been at the heart of Allison’s piano attack (Back Country Suite, 1957), though he’s always wedded them to swing, rag, and bop. Henry underscores that with subtle touches: the strummed Gypsy swing mandola on the ironic betrayal anthem “I Know You Didn’t Mean It” that engages with a knotty bluesed-out piano break and a warm tenor solo -- à la Ben Webster -- and “Everybody Thinks You’re an Angel,” a waltz with a Weissenborn guitar, follows a similar principle to delightfully different ends. On “Modest Proposal” Allison humorously asserts the compassionate idea that perhaps God is so weary he deserves a vacation. It’s a strutting piano-and-vocal number, where Allison's saloon-singer irony might scandalize a preacher but makes the congregation laugh. The elegant parlor ballad “Once in a While” and the shuffling, not brokenhearted blues of “I’m Alright” also stand out. The latter’s addition of electric guitar, mandola, and saxophone might seem like frills for an Allison session, but sound perfectly balanced and natural. On the final track, Buddy Johnson's WWII-era pop tune “This New Situation,” Allison duets with daughter Amy; the two swing beautifully together. The Way of the World is not a comeback album; Henry had a nagging suspicion that Allison might have something new to say and Allison obliged. In the process they created a gem of an album that proves the pianist and songwriter still has many tricks up his elegantly tailored, eternally hip sleeve. ~Thom Jurek

The Way Of The World

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Mose Allison - Jazz Profile

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 55:31
Size: 129.4 MB
Label: Blue Note
Styles: Jazz blues, Hard Bop, Vocal jazz
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[4:50] 1. Ever Since The World Ended
[4:23] 2. Top Forty
[3:10] 3. Putting Up With Me
[3:14] 4. I Looked In The Mirror
[4:27] 5. Getting There
[3:28] 6. What's Your Movie
[3:15] 7. Ever Since I Stole The Blues
[4:12] 8. Was
[4:12] 9. The Getting Paid Waltz
[3:40] 10. My Backyard
[4:18] 11. Certified Senior Citizen
[3:20] 12. This Ain't Me
[4:50] 13. You Can't Push People Around
[4:07] 14. The Earth Wants You

This single CD has highlights from Mose Allison's three Blue Note albums of 1987-1993 (Ever Since the World Ended, My Backyard, and The Earth Wants You). Although it would be preferable to acquire the complete records instead (and Allison's greatest material was actually recorded in earlier years), there are plenty of gems on this set, including "Ever Since the World Ended," "I Looked in the Mirror," "Ever Since I Stole the Blues," and "Certified Senior Citizen." Joined by a variety of all-star players (including Bennie Wallace on tenor, altoist Arthur Blythe, and guitarist John Scofield), Allison's singing, witty delivery, piano playing, and insightful (yet humorous) lyrics easily steal the show. ~Scott Yanow

Jazz Profile

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