Customer Reviews

Down Home Piano

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much like the other reviewer, i just don't "get" mose allison's popularity as a singer. i find his voice kind of annoying, to be honest.

as a pianist and composer i have no reservations whatsoever about mose. what stumps me is why the guy isn't better known in this capacity. given the time frame for these recordings ('57-'59), he was quite an interesting talent.

this cd compiles 10 original compositions from mose's 6 prestige albums. you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody else doing stuff that sounded remotely like this in the late 50s. allison's songs are fun and catchy without being simplistic or goofy and he really is a terrific pianist with a distinctive style all his own. lord knows, as much as i love bud powell, bill evans and horace silver, it's such a relief to find somebody whose melodic and rhythmic conception owes nothing to them.

grab this cd while it's cheap, but don't be surprised if you end up buying allison's other prestige stuff after this addictive introduction.

It is a real shame that so many Original Jazz Classics CDs have been deleted in the past year, with Mose Allison's "Down Home Piano" one of the numerous victims. This disc collects ten performances from four of the pianist's six sessions for the Prestige label. It's a nice set for someone who is not a big fan of Mose's singing (like me), but still appreciates his artistry on the ivories. The pianist is accompanied on all tracks by bassist Addison Farmer, and by either Ronnie Free or Nick Stabulus on the drums. While Mose Allison is often credited with a truly unique style, I found these compositions and performances pretty standard for the late 1950s, but enjoyable nonetheless. I'm glad I took the opportunity to check out Mose "Down Home" before it went down and out.