Blues and jazz pianist Mose Allison dies aged 89

Mose Allison 1927-2016
Mose Allison 1927-2016 (Image credit: Getty)

Blues and jazz pianist Mose Allison has died at the age of 89.

The news was confirmed to Rolling Stone by his daughter Amy, who said he had passed away from natural causes.

Allison was on November 11, 1927, in Tippo, Mississippi, and began playing piano behind a local filling station. After serving in the US Army, Allison relocated to New York where he met fellow musicians and played with artists including Stan Getz and Zoot Sims.

Allison issued his debut album Black Country Suite in 1956 via Prestige Records, with his piano style influenced by Delta blues but also intertwined with “rustic sensibility with bebop-oriented improvisations” according to NPR.

His work was covered by a wide range of artists including The Who, Van Morrison, Yardbirds, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Robert Palmer, Bonnie Raitt and the late Leon Russell, while Pixies song Allison was written about the musician.

Allison’s final album was 2015’s Mose Allison American Legend, Live in California.

In a joint 1990 interview, Morrison said: “I followed Mose’s career. I heard a lot of records and I saw a lot of gigs and I realised that he was a philosopher. He’s a musician, but he’s also a philosopher.”

Allison is survived by his son and three daughters.

Scott Munro
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Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.