All the classic jazz players all sang and a lot of 'em sang blues.
Mose Allison

And Lennie Tristano I like a lot, I still like him.
Mose Allison

As far as I'm concerned, the essentials of jazz are: melodic improvisation, melodic invention, swing, and instrumental personality.
Mose Allison

At this point, I don't listen to other people too much. I'm not really that affected by anyone.
Mose Allison

But I got an audience that knows what I do. They usually show up, so I usually do pretty good.
Mose Allison

I been getting good crowds. It only took 50 years.
Mose Allison

I can't judge my own stuff. That's for others. But those are the three things that I admire.
Mose Allison

I do some concerts. At the moment, I'm being helped a lot by a gig I play in London, which is Pizza Express.
Mose Allison

I do very few standards. Hardly any. Other people's tunes that I do are usually obscure tunes, for the most part, although I do a couple of Duke Ellington tunes that are well known.
Mose Allison

I finally decided if I was going to make a living, I was gonna have to come to New York.
Mose Allison


I have no idea what I'm doin'. I've never seen me.
Mose Allison

I haven't stopped and I don't plan on stoppin' any time soon.
Mose Allison

I just have a lot off different influences.
Mose Allison

I just try to do as good job with the material as I can and play some jazz as well, some improvised music, and do that every night. Just see where it goes.
Mose Allison

I never sit down and write. I just sorta let things form in my brain.
Mose Allison

I sang and wrote songs when I was 12 years old.
Mose Allison

I went through the whole number, you know. The swing era, the boogie woogie era, the bebop era. Thelonious Monk is still one of my favorites. So a lot of these people had their effect on me.
Mose Allison

I'm always storing away phrases and ideas and things that I think might turn into songs.
Mose Allison

I'm playin' music for a certain type of person. Fortunately, there are more and more of us. At least there are more comin' to see me than there were 30 years ago or so.
Mose Allison

I'm playin' the music I like.
Mose Allison