Mose Allison - The Best of Mose Allison
This isn't the album listed in the 1000, but it was all I could find by this artist. But boy, am I glad I downloaded this. It's super cool jazz blues stuff, very minimalist with just a drummer, bassist, and pianist, with the warm smooth vocals of Allison meandering his way through each track. I suspect this is an album that even a year ago I would not have enjoyed, but since I have been playing in a band with jazz musicians I have gained a deeper appreciation of this kind of swing. It's cool, quick in places, laid back and chilled in others, but always superbly played and sung. There is more an element of the traditional 12-bar blues here than jazz, but the piano lends a very jazz feel to the blues, accentuated by the walking basslines underpinning the rest of the music.
Standout Tracks: It didn't turn out that way, Your Molecular Structure, Night Club
This isn't the album listed in the 1000, but it was all I could find by this artist. But boy, am I glad I downloaded this. It's super cool jazz blues stuff, very minimalist with just a drummer, bassist, and pianist, with the warm smooth vocals of Allison meandering his way through each track. I suspect this is an album that even a year ago I would not have enjoyed, but since I have been playing in a band with jazz musicians I have gained a deeper appreciation of this kind of swing. It's cool, quick in places, laid back and chilled in others, but always superbly played and sung. There is more an element of the traditional 12-bar blues here than jazz, but the piano lends a very jazz feel to the blues, accentuated by the walking basslines underpinning the rest of the music.
Standout Tracks: It didn't turn out that way, Your Molecular Structure, Night Club
For those unfamiliar with this band (as I was) this is a reggae album. I think reggae is a non-marmite style of music, you either love it or hate it, or you are indifferent to it. I fall into the third category. The music has that "protest" feel to it, as if there are no frivolous songs with no meaning, but songs laden with lyrics that talk of empowering, religion, and the like. The musicianship is superb - but the constant skanking eventually gets on your nerves. Which is why I am indifferent to it, as the skanking is what makes this reggae. It also always seems to me that reggae is a "political" music, a vehicle for artists to put across their (potentially subversive) points of view ... nothing wrong with that of course, but it's largely on issues of race and religion that I really have no interest in (Rastafarianism etc. Although this is to be expected .. a quick check of Wikipedia shows The Abyssinians are a "roots reggae" group whose lyrical influences are indeed religion, politics, and the plight of the common (presumably black) man). Musically, these guys can sing, and play, but as mentioned above I am in the indifferent group when it comes to this music.
Standout Tracks: Abednigo, Satta Massagana, African Race
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