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Tuesday, 09 February 2010

Mose Allison and Bob Dorough July 2-5 at Yoshi's in Oakland

Written by Ronaldo Oregano

Wednesday, 01 July 2009

Mose Allison © Andea Canter

Two living legends of jazz Mose Allison and Bob Dorough will appear in a double bill at Yoshi's in Oakland on Thursday, July 2nd through Sunday, July 5th. I can think of no better way to celebrate Independence Day that with these two independent and quirky American masters of song. Dubbed the "William Faulkner of Jazz", the legendary composer/pianist/singer Mose Allison can manage to be a Mississippi country blues man and an urbane hipster at the same time. His songs are both light-hearted and hard edged with biting social criticism of the modern world. Continuing a long and fruitful career, Mose Allison continues to write and perform all over the world. His songs have been covered by Van Morrison, John Mayall, The Who, The Clash, Eric Clapton, the Yardbirds, Elvis Costello and Bonnie Raitt, to name a few. Bob Dorough worked with Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg, and his adventurous style was an influence on many singers. He is perhaps best known as a voice and primary composer of many of the songs used in Schoolhouse Rock!, a series appearing on Saturday morning television in the 1970s and 1980s. He has released vocal jazz albums periodically over the last 50 years; his latest, Small Day Tomorrow, came out in 2006."

Mose Allison's popularity in the UK dates from the '60s, when his mixture of Delta-born blues feel and his gift for writing a song with a sting in the tail made him a prime source of inspiration for the UK's new generation of blues/rock artists. Not just namechecked but lionized by the likes of Pete Townshend, Jack Bruce, Brian Auger and Georgie Fame, he became British rock's most popular jazz musician. His piano style is notable for its strange mixture of classical-influenced sophistication and blues-based intimacy, and there's still none like him with a lyric." -Time Out, London's major entertainment weekly

Mose Allison's most recent Grammy nomination was for one of his two newest recordings, Mose Chronicles, Live in London, Vol. I on Blue Note Records. Mose Chronicles, Vol II was just released last year. Also, British-born director Paul Barnays has produced a one-hour documentary on Mose, entitled Mose Allison: Ever Since I Stole the Blues, for the BBC4 in the UK. Among recent releases are a dozen reissues on CD including Allison Wonderland and a double CD retrospective on Rhino, and High Jinks, a three CD package on Legacy. Blue Note has also re-released a collection of past recordings, Mose Allison, Jazz Profiles. His music has often been used in movies, and he can be seen performing in the recently released movie, The Score, starring Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando.

Bob Dobrough

Bob Dorough was born in Arkansas and grew up in Texas. He played in an Army band during World War II, then went to North Texas State University, where he majored in composition and minored in piano. He moved to New York City around 1950 and was playing piano in a Times Square tap dance studio when he was introduced to the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, who had temporarily left boxing and was putting together a song and dance revue. Dorough was hired and later became the show's music director; the revue traveled to various U.S. cities and then to Europe.

Dorough left Robinson in Paris and lived there from 1954 to 1955, recording with singer Blossom Dearie during that time. He returned to the United States and moved to Los Angeles, where he played various gigs, including a job between sets by comedian Lenny Bruce. Dorough released his first album, Devil May Care, in 1956. It contained a version of "Yardbird Suite" with lyrics by Dorough over the famous Charlie Parker song. "Comin' Home Baby", written by Dorough and bassist friend Ben Tucker, was a Top 40 hit for Mel Tormé in 1962, and earned Tormé two Grammy nominations.

Trumpeter Miles Davis liked the album, so when Columbia asked Davis to record a Christmas song in 1962, Davis turned to Dorough for lyrics and singing duties. The result was a downbeat tune called "Blue Xmas," released on Columbia's Jingle Bell Jazz compilation. During that session Dorough recorded another song for Davis, "Nothing Like You," which appeared a few years later at the end of the Sorcerer album, making Dorough one of the few musicians with a vocal performance on a Miles Davis record.

Bob Dorough bio adapter from wikipedia.org

Yoshi’s is located at Jack London Square in Oakland. Visit www.yoshis.com for ticket information.