Follow your Mose: Longtime blues and jazz performer makes first trip to Fayetteville
Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008
When finding out Mose Allison's take on celebrity status, it should come as no surprise that his publicity photos -- most of which are all black and white -- are, at best, limited.
In spite of being a specifically named influence by high-profile acts like The Rolling Stones, The Who, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt, Allison remains very much under the radar in comparison.
Just the way he likes it. As folks attending one of his two Saturday Night performances at the Walton Arts Center's Starr Theater will find out, his act, the Mose Allison Trio, is the only name recognition that appeals to the 80-year-old blues/jazz crossover specialist.
"I take it or leave it,"Allison said over the phone from his Eastport, N.Y. home. "I'm considered by some people as real good. I have my fans. I've been able to make a living so I'm happy that way."
The only true member of the trio is Allison, who said that he plays "with whoever's closest to the job."On Saturday, he will be joined by drummer Tom Lenardo from Memphis, Tenn., and bassist James Greeson, a University of Arkansas faculty member who plays in the house band during the KUAF Summer Jazz Series.
In a biography, it states that someone once said to Allison," You were a social critic before [Bob] Dylan. You were satirical long before [Randy] Newman. You were rude long before [Mick] Jagger. Why aren't you a big star?"
Allison's reply: "Just lucky, I guess."
Although Allison and his wife, Audre, raised four children on the East Coast after he moved to New York City in 1956 to tap into the growing jazz scene, the performer's roots can be found in the town of Tippo, Miss., a minuscule municipality about 100 miles south of Memphis, located in the Delta area that produced the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson.
"It's not a town. It's a crossroads,"Allison said of Tippo.
Coincidentally, Allison's oldest daughter, Alissa, had been staying with his only brother, Tony, in Tippo while she and the majority of other New Orleans residents waited out the wallop delivered by Hurricane Gustav.
It was in Tippo where Allison started composing boogie-woogie tunes on the piano while in grade school when he was not helping his father on the family farm by plowing cotton with the assistance of a mule. He later said that he is probably one of the only bluesmen still alive who can make such a claim.
Allison would later head north to Memphis in the late '40s to listen to some of the biggest names in blues music including an up-and-comer named B.B. King who started out playing gigs with his band at the Mitchell Hotel on Beale Street. After taking notes in Memphis, Allison found his first long-standing gig in Lake Charles, La., in 1951 while working nightclubs throughout the South.
"I thought I'd do it as long I could,"Allison said of his career. "I didn't know if I could make a living at it or not. I took it one job at a time. We just sneaked by four or five years before we went to New York."
In New York, Allison was able to blend his blues-heavy background into the tapestry of mainstream jazz. The transition allowed him to record 31 albums in his career, some of which were on major labels such as Columbia, Epic and Atlantic. In addition to playing music on stage, Allison is a celebrated songwriter as well after penning songs such as The Who's "Young Man Blues,"Leon Russell's "I'm Smashed"and Bonnie Raitt's "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy."
Given that his Southern accent and career have yet to fade away, Allison has been called "the William Faulkner of jazz,"a title he does not mind.
Allison remembers meeting Faulkner through a close friend in the '50s while spending time in the famed author's well-publicized stomping grounds of Oxford, Miss.
He has a favorite story about Faulkner's appearance throughout the town, which often consisted of an old suit coat or even overalls.
"I was in a downtown department store with a friend who was a very literary type,"Allison said. "Faulkner walked in. My friend said, 'That was one of the most distinguished-looking tramps I ever saw.'"
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
