On Tuesday, iconic blues and jazz pianist Mose Allison died at the age of 89 from natural causes.
Mose’s daughter, Amy confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.
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Allison’s music was influential on a slew of rock legends and was covered by the likes of bands like the Who, Bonnie Raitt, the Clash, Elvis Costello, the Bangles, Robert Palmer, Leon Russell, hot Tuna, the Yardbirds, and Van Morrison.
During a joint interview with Allison, Van Morrison said: “I followed Mose’s career. I heard a lot of records and I saw a lot of gigs and I realized that he was a philosopher. He’s a musician, but he’s also a philosopher.”
“He was the thread that connected Willie Dixon and Mark Twin,” Joe Henry said, who worked with Allison on his final studio album.
He was most known for his piano chops, but Allison also received acclaim for his vocal ability. His inspirations drew from Delta blues, bebop, early American pop, and European classical, even though the record labels struggled to find the best way to market him. Prestige viewed him as a pop star while Columbia and Atlantic gave him the blues artist label.
“Mose was a huge, huge crush of mine,” Townshend said in an interview with Rolling Stone before Allison’s death. “I just loved him. I loved everything he did. I did exactly the same thing.”
In an interview conducted for NPR back in 1986, Allison categorized his material into three different categories: slapstick, social comment, and personal crisis. “Sometimes, all three of those elements wind up in a tune,” Allison said.
Over the course of his career, Allison always considered himself a jazz musician. “My definition of jazz is music that’s felt, thought and performed simultaneously.” He continued by saying, “And that’s what I’m looking for every night.”
“In the South, I’m considered an advanced bebop type,” Allison said while chatting with DownBeat magazine in 1958. “In New York, I’m considered a country blues-folk type. Actually, I don’t think I’m either. Maybe I’m a little of both.”
Allison released his final studio album in 2010, titled “The Way of the World.”
Allison was born on a family cotton farm near Tippo, Mississippi on November 11, 1927.
Check out some of Mose Allison’s most iconic tunes below:
“Young Man Blues”
“I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues”
“Your Molecular Structure”
“Parchman Farm”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Allison family.
[H/T New York Times, Rolling Stone]
