Mose Allison - Lessons in Living (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

Allison's live follow-up to Middle Class White Boy, recorded July 21, 1982 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland. I'll let him explain:

Indeed he doesn't "need to say a word about the personnel," this is a helluva group:

Allison - piano, vocals

Jack Bruce - bass

Billy Cobham - drums

Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone

Eric Gale - guitar

Mostly just a trio concert, both Donaldson and Gale are brought out later in the set to play blues solos on a couple of tunes. The performance is high-energy and it sounds like everybody had a great time in front of an appreciative audience. Of the two Allison albums released on the Elektra/Musician imprint, this one gets the nod.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "crack band, superb production"
• Downbeat (★★★½): "Mose Allison at his best"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay Chart: #16

Tracks: 9 tracks, 37½ minutes. If you like Allison's understated bluesy style, there's plenty here to enjoy.

1. Lost Mind (Percy Mayfield cover, originally on Allison's 1958 album, Local Color)
2. Wild Man On The Loose (originally the title track on Allison's 1965 album)
3. Your Mind Is On Vacation (originally the title track on Allison's 1976 album)
4. You Are My Sunshine (standard credited to Jimmie Dixon & Charles Mitchell, originally on Allison's 1968 album, I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin')
5. Seventh Son (Willy Dixon cover, originally on Allison's 1958 album, Creek Bank)
6. Everybody Is Cryin' Mercy (originally on Allison's 1968 album, I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin')
7. Middle Class White Boy (originally the title track on Allison's 1982 album)
8. I Don't Worry About A Thing (originally the title track on Allison's 1962 album)
9. Night Club (originally on Allison's 1971 album, Western Man)

According to setlist.fm, that's pretty close to the whole show that night.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Middle Class White Boy (1982)