by Pico
When it comes to jazz crooners, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Harry Connick, Jr. are the usual suspects most people think of. Do they all have to be the big, showy types, though? Do they have to have the big, swing orchestras, wear tuxedos, appear in movies and make appearances on Jay Leno?
I ask because Mose Allison is none of that.
I’m not even sure he’s a “crooner” at all, his voice is that awkward, fragile, modest soft timbre that’s charming because of those things, not in spite of it. Heck, he’s barely “jazz” because of his penchant for blues tunes. What he is, though, is an original. And one of the most unassuming of originals; so much so that only the more serious fans of The Who know that Mose was a big influence on a young Pete Townshend and his records introduced Pete to blues classics like “Parchman’s Farm” and Willie Dixon’s “Seventh Son.” Allison’s own “Young Man Blues” even opens the The Who’s monumental live document, Live At Leeds. Fifty years later, Allison still going strong to the hole.
That all said, this ain’t about singing the praises of Mose, but of another blog. Allison came to mind because I just noticed that this blogtastic site is on our blogroll located to the right-down on this page as “mosedenied.” That’s supposed to be moosedenied. D’oh!
Moosedenied, the origin of the name of which I have no clue, is the kind of sports-oriented site you go to when it’s time to let your hair down and soak in the sharp, acerbic wit of another original, Grandmaster Wang. He and his minions of moosedeniers like me revel in all things LSU and the New Orleans Saints. Lately, it’s been a lot of chest thumping about the former and head scratching about the latter. If those topics with a lot of gut-busting humor thrown in is your idea of quality down time on the internet, give the misspelled link a clicky.
But since the typo does remind me of the delightfully playful piano jazz/blues of Mose Allison, I think I’ll keep it there. Just for grins. And when I need even more grins, I’ll click on it.
Listen: Mose Allison “Eyesight To The Blind”
Purchase: Mose Allison – Greatest Hits
- Takuya Kuroda – ‘Rising Son’ (2014, 2024 reissue) - December 25, 2024
- Ivo Perelman’s Sao Paulo Creative 4 – ‘Supernova’ (2024) - December 23, 2024
- Peter Van Huffel, Meinrad Kneer + Yorgos Dimitraidis – ‘Synomilies’ (2024) - December 20, 2024
