MOSE ALLISON - Four Classic Albums Plus (Transfiguration Of Hiram Brown / Creek Bank / I Love The Life I Live / V-8 Ford Blues)

AVID Jazz presents four classic Mose Allison albums plus, including original liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“Transfiguration Of Hiram Brown”; “Creek Bank”; “I Love The Life I Live”; “Sings And Plays V-8 Ford Blues” plus 8 mono tracks from“Young Man Mose”.
“Transfiguration Of Hiram Brown” welcomed Mose Allison to the Columbia stable of artists in 1959. Having played with the likes of Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, Mose was well versed in the jazz field and ready to tackle his first big label debut. The line up on this album of two halves, side one a suite (hence the album’s title) and side two, a selection of standards, comprises Allison’s regular band of Addison Farmer on bass and Jerry Segal on drums. This format pretty much sets the tone for many of Mose Allison’s albums to follow. A combination of originals and standards, Mose singing and playing primarily the piano and sometimes the trumpet. The origins of Mose Allison’s style can be traced to “the spirit of country blues he grew up with in Mississippi”. We should add to that the names of great music men who influenced him in the blues and jazz field, from Sonny Boy Williamson and Tampa Red to Louis Armstrong, Bud Powell, George Willington, Bird, Dizzy, Monk and Ray Charles. Perusing these names we can get a pretty good idea of how Mose might have arrived at his unique playing and singing style. For “Creek Bank” Mose is joined by Addison Farmer on bass and Ronnie Free on drums. For “I Love The Life I Live” Mose can be heard with three different Trio line ups, his regular team of Farmer and Segal, Henry Grimes on piano and Paul Motian on drums and finally Bill Crow on bass and Gus Johnson on drums. For “Sings And Plays V-8 Ford Blues” we have six tracks that do not already appear on Transfiguration and I Love The Life I Lead (see track listing for details). Again, tracks consist of originals and covers, nearly all in the blues idiom, but all performed in the inimitable Allison style. “Young Man Mose” finds Mose accompanied by old compatriot Addison Farmer but this time Nick Stabulas takes over the drum stool.
All four albums plus have been digitally re-mastered.

CD1
1-14: ‘Transfiguration Of Hiram Brown’
1. Barefoot-Dirt Road
2. City Home
3. Cuttin’ Out
4. Gotham Day
5. Gotham Night
6. Echo
7. The River
8. Finale
9. Barefoot-Dirt Road (alternate take)
10. How Little We Know
11. Baby, Please Don’t Go
12. Make Yourself Comfortable
13. ‘Deed I Do
14. Love For Sale
15-24: ‘Creek Bank’
15. The Seventh Son
16. If I Didn’t Care
17. Cabin In The Sky
18. If You Live
19. Yardbird Suite
20. Creek Bank
21. Moon And Cypress
22. Mule
23. Dinner On The Ground
24. Prelude To A Kiss

CD2
1-12: ‘I Love The Life I Live’
1. I Love The Life I Live
2. News
3. Fool’s Paradise
4. You Turned The Tables On Me
5. Isobel
6. You’re A Sweetheart
7. Night Ride
8. Path
9. Mad With You
10. Hittin’ On One
11. I Ain’t Got Nobody
12. Can’t We Be Friends
13-18: ‘V-8 Ford Blues’
13. V-8 Ford Blues
14. Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone
15. Hey, Good Lookin’
16. Back On The Corner
17. Life Is Suicide
18. Ask Me Nice
19. Somebody Else Is Taking My Place from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
20. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
21. Bye Bye Blues from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
22. How Long Has This Been Going On? from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
23. I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
24. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
25. I Hadn’t Anyone Till You from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)
26. My Kinda Love from Young Man Mose (mono recordings)