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

"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.