MOSE ALLISON
Genres: Hard Bop, Post Bop, Pop, Art Song, Folk • United States

Not unlike his namesake, Luther Allison, pianist Mose Allison suffered from a "categorization problem," given his equally brilliant career. Although his boogie-woogie and bebop-laden piano style was innovative and fresh-sounding when it came to blues and jazz, it was as a songwriter that Allison really excelled. Allison's songs have been recorded by the Who ("Young Man Blues"), Leon Russell ("I'm Smashed"), and Bonnie Raitt ("Everybody's Cryin' Mercy"). Other admirers have included Tom Waits, John Mayall, Georgie Fame, the Rolling Stones, and Van Morrison. But because he always played both blues and jazz, and not one to the exclusion of the other, his career suffered. As he himself admitted, he had a "category" problem that lingered throughout his career. "There's a lot of places I don't work because they're confused about what I do," he explained in a 1990 interview in Goldmine magazine. Despite the lingering confusion, Allison was one of read more...