Mose Allison

Mose John Allison, Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano.

MOSE ALLISON OBITUARY 11/11/1927 - 11/15/2016

Mose Allison, a legendary blues and jazz pianist, died Nov. 15, 2016, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, according to multiple news sources. He was 89.

Allison's singer-songwriter daughter, Amy Allison, confirmed the musician's death to Rolling Stone magazine.

Mose Allison was also a singer-songwriter who was known for his unique voice. Allison’s music featured many influences including jazz, blues, pop, bebop, and classical.

Allison was born Nov. 11, 1927, in the Mississippi Delta region and began playing piano at age 5. He moved to New York City in 1956 and began his jazz career. Allison performed with many legendary jazz artists including Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, and Zoot Sims. He released his debut album in 1957 on Prestige Records.

In 1963, he released his first album featuring all vocal songs, “Mose Allison Sings.” That album featured one of his most famous songs, “Parchman Farm.” Prestige tried to market him as a pop star, and Columbia and Atlantic Records later positioned him as a blues artist.

"I've always had a category problem, that's for sure," Allison told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. "There's a lot of blues in what I do. It's still primarily jazz, but there's a lot of influences thrown in there."

His last studio album, “The Way of the World,” was released as recently as 2010. In 2013, Allison was honored as a jazz master by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in jazz.

Many musicians were influenced by Mose Allison including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, and Van Morrison. The Who and the Clash covered some of his songs.

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/ns/mose-allison-obituary/182547527#sthash.WxU...

family

from offfical website

Mose resided in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with his wife of 62 years, Audre. They lived on Long Island, for over 40 years where they raised four children: Alissa, an attorney, John, a telecommunications specialist, Janine. a psychiatrist, and Amy, a singer/songwriter based in New York.

Mose retired from live performance in 2012 and received the honor of being named a jazz master by the NEA in 2013.

From http://www.bluesaccess.com/No_33/mose.html

Mose described his childhood:

"My grandfather had a player piano, and the story is that my father taught himself to play piano by lookin’ at the piano roll, the keys goin’ down and everything. He just evidently had a good ear, and he taught himself to play. He played at parties and things. He played around the house some when I was a kid. I’d hear him — ‘12th Street Rag,’ ‘Sweet Sue,’ stuff like that. He could never figure out why I didn’t try to play that way. When I started playin’ boogie-woogie he didn’t know what I was doin’."

---

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mstallah/bios/A.html#allison

In 1901, Mr. [John Robert] Allison married Mrs. Texana (Paul) Parker, a daughter of Wiley Paul. The children of this marriage are, Mose John, who is associated with her father in the operation of a plantation and who married Maxine Collins by whom he has a son, Mose John, Jr., and Joy, who is engaged in merchandising at Tippo.

• Residence: 1940 - Granel Road West of Tippo, Beat 4, Tallahatchie, Mississippi, USA
• Race: White
  • Reference: 1940 United States Federal Census - SmartCopy: Nov 17 2016, 6:04:53 UTC
• Residence: 1930 - Beat 4, Tallahatchie, Mississippi, USA
• Race: White
  • Reference: 1930 United States Federal Census - SmartCopy: Nov 17 2016, 6:10:18 UTC

    ---

• Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, Mississippi Blues Trail Marker, LA Times, Washington Post, Seattle Times

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mose Allison enjoyed a prolific and critically acclaimed musical career that defies easy definitions or labels. He charted his own course, creating a unique sound that reflects his Delta roots and his introspective nature, and along the way he accumulated a legion of followers and influenced a range of artists, from the groundbreaking punk band the Clash to such venerated acts as the Rolling Stones and Hot Tuna. Throughout his career, Allison’s music continued to evolve but retained the blues aesthetic that evoked the unique region of his childhood.

Allison was born on 11 November 1927 in the small Mississippi Delta town of Tippo. The Allison family was close-knit and well respected in the community. Allison’s father, Mose Allison Sr., an accomplished stride-style piano player, became an early advocate of land rights for African Americans in the racially segregated Delta. Allison’s mother, Maxine Collins Allison, played the ukulele and traveled. His early childhood home featured sawdust-covered floors and ragtime music. The blues of the Mississippi Delta profoundly influenced Allison’s approach to music, and taking that sound as an artistic aesthetic, he rendered the blues in his own unique style. His music always enjoyed a particular popularity in England, where he achieved cult status with his mellow, blues-inflected jazz. Evidence of the esteem with which his work is held is seen by the legion of Allison cover songs from British artists.

Allison began formal piano lessons at the age of five, and by grade school he was an accomplished songwriter and piano and trumpet player. After graduating from high school, he enrolled as a chemical engineering major at the University of Mississippi, where he joined the popular jazz band the Mississippians. Following a stint in the US Army, Allison briefly returned to the University of Mississippi before heading to Louisiana State University to earn a degree in philosophy and literature. Following graduation, Allison married St. Louis native Audre Mae Schwartz and embarked on an extended tour of the South. In the fall of 1956 Allison moved to New York to try his hand in America’s premier jazz city. New York offered him the opportunity to associate with legendary jazz saxophonists such as Stan Getz and Lester Young, and he found an artistic home in now-legendary jam sessions in a 34th Street apartment that featured provocative jazz musicians such as Zoot Sims and Buddy Jones. The apartment served as an oasis of artistic freedom for southern expatriates.

Allison’s multidecade career included recordings on several significant music labels, among them Prestige, Columbia, and Atlantic Records. His debut recording session with Prestige Records in 1957, Back Country Suite, harkens back to his roots, evoking the warm pastoral setting of his youth. Allison’s lyric capabilities matched his prowess on piano; he sang in a candid and conversational idiom, lacing his lyrics with biting wit and introspective observation. Refusing to compromise his music for mass-market audiences, Allison remained true to his vision and philosophy. His accolades include a 1987 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocalist and a 2002 Grammy nomination for Mose Chronicles, Live in London, vol. 1. He also appeared in the major motion picture The Score, starring Robert De Niro. Allison toured extensively, delighting fans by playing in smaller venues and with local musicians.

In 2013 Mose Allison was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, “the nation’s highest honor in jazz.” Allison lived with his family in New York until his death on 15 November 2016.