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Born just outside Tippo, Mississippi on his grandfather's farm (known as The Island 'because Tippo Bayou encircles it'), Mose Allison was already taking piano lessons by the age of five. In 1956 he moved to New York City and launched his jazz career, performing with artists such as Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Phil Woods. His debut album, 'Back Country Suite', was issued on the Prestige label in 1957. The album featured the song 'Young Man Blues' which later became a staple of The Who's live set. Allison's second record, 'Local Color' also on Prestige, contained his first recording of 'Parchman Farm', the song for which Mose Allison still remains best known. Although Allison had adapted the song from an original blues by Bukka White in 1938, he largely changed the original arrangement and added new lyrics, it is the Mose Allison version that numerous subsequent artists have covered. Mose formed his own trio in 1958 with Addison Farmer on bass and Nick Stabulas on drums and it was this line up that recorded 'Young Man Mose', Allison's third album. For the follow up, 'Creek Bank' Stabulas was replaced by Ronnie Free who would stay for three albums. By 1959's 'Autumn Song' Allison was becoming better known for his vocal skills than his piano playing, although he also continued to compose enthusiastically and many of his Prestige albums were made up of a mix of self composed cuts and his self arranged versions of pop, blues and jazz standards as well as covers of then contemporary writers like Ray Charles. This 5 CD compilation includes all Mose Allison's albums released between his 1957 debut and his first two Atlantic albums (both 1962). Containing eleven full albums in all, this period is considered that in which Mose Allison made his finest and most exciting music.

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