Mose Allison: witty lyricist, blues pianist

Mose Allison makes it look effortless. At 83, the Mississippi-born pianist drove the packed auditorium at the Enwave Theatre on Sunday night through a set of wry, idiosyncratic blues and jazz, with boogie woogie from his early days heard intermittently throughout the performance. Each of his 19 songs (including a memorable encore of "My Brain") was different from the last.

While the tunes could have felt repetitive, Allison and Toronto bandmates, bassist Neil Swainson and drummer John Sumner, routinely threw in unexpected twists - switching tempos, bouncing the focus from piano to bass, and moving in and out of the standard blues form. Just as surprising was Sumner's remarkable drumming - no two verses sounded the same.

I enjoyed watching the trio on stage, as each member adjusted to the others' nuances. Aside from a small apology for losing a page of sheet music, Allison spoke only to call tunes to his musicians. His facial expressions served as necessary cues whenever he took a song or a solo into unfamiliar territory. And of course, every piece magically came together again, almost always finishing with Allison running lines up and down the piano to the sound of crashing cymbals and deep, strong bass.

When Allison sang, he phrased coolly and casually, neither belting nor scatting, but emphasizing the cynicism and witty humour of his songs. For the average listener, his lyrics, while philosophical, were the stubbornly truthful musings that stole the show. Take the outspoken "Your Mind is On Vacation," with its line "You're sitting there yakkin' right in my face/ I guess I'm gonna have to put you in your place." Or the defiant "Certified Senior Citizen: "'scuse me while I take my nap/ you don't like my driving/ I don't like your jivin'/ just don't give me that old-timer crap."

In all, Allison's performance was a fine balance between blues and jazz whose ease and energy belied the 50-plus years that this veteran has been in the business.