The Mose Chronicles

Product Description:

Personnel: Mose Allison (vocals, piano); Jim Mullen (guitar); Roy Babbington (bass); Mark Taylor (drums).

Recorded live at the Pizza Express, London, England on January 21 & 22, 2000.

Includes liner notes by Ben Sidran.

This live disc was recorded in 2000, the year that marked Mose Allison's 50th anniversary as a professional musician. He's accompanied here by a supple trio of Roy Babbington on bass, Jim Muller on guitar, and Mark Taylor on drums. Allison's singing and piano playing are in peak form. His blues/jazz vocal style has allowed him to pass through the decades--from young man through middle age, and on into his elder years--with style and grace.

The set finds him revisiting songs from throughout his career ("City Home" and "Baby Please Don't Go" are among his earliest numbers), including some of his most well known and enduring (the quirky "Your Molecular Structure," the sarcastic "Your Mind's On Vacation"). That these songs all come off as perfectly contemporary is a testament to the timelessness of both Allison's songwriting and his choice of cover material. The live recording sparkles with wit and warmth. This second of two volumes holds delights for both longtime fans and newcomers unfamiliar with Allison's work, as it does double duty as a de facto best-of.