One of most amazing aspects of American music is that there’re innumerable through-lines that pretty easily connect King Oliver to let’s say…Toroise, a Chicago based rock group working with the possibilities of instrumental (and sometimes painfully boring) music. But only the most astute – and nerdy – can do any of this easily. And I guess, to a certain extent, since popular music the world over is derived in great part from what’s been recorded in this country during the last one hundred years or so, American music can be tied to anything going on musically anywhere.

That’s dangerous territory to get into – and probably a sentiment that’s overblown and more than a bit problematic for folks in Europe, Africa and all points East. But just using Mose Allison as an example of this phenomenon there can’t be too much dispute. If there is, it’s probably all pride based, which is understandable. But for a player who isn’t really too well known today, even as he’s issued work recently, finding his music imprinted on everything from the Who to the Clash and the Pixies should be surprising to all involved.

Born in Mississippi, on the delta, in the late twenties, Allison was granted an opportunity to hear a wealth of local players as well as catching sounds from less bucolic cities on the radio. It’s easy to hear his debt to pianists like Fats Waller or some of New York’s stride players even if Allison doesn’t employ those break neck tempos. In that, though, it’d be an easy task to peg the man as someone wanting to lead combos that swing easy, but swing hard.

A concept perpetuated by Count Basie, who played an indirect role in birthing bop by employing some of the music’s soon-to-be stars, finds bands working blues progressions into a groove, but still avoiding too much effort – or that’s how it feels at least.

With Allison preferring small combos – he did begin recording during the bop era – the trios he led early on were able to swing like Basie, but get into more contemplative compositions and even into straight blues territory.

Included on his first date as a session leader, his “Blues,” which was reworked by the Who on its Live at Leeds album as “Young Man Blues,” makes use of a familiar vernacular music, but renders it in jazz terms. Of course, it debatable whether or not the musics were properly separated into genres, but again, that only points to the fact that America’s music is really just a huge, unwieldy monster.

Even with that blues number becoming Allison’s best known tune, the rest of Back Country Suite moves around enough within the realm of piano jazz as to come off as a pleasant, if not stunning release. Apart from that aforementioned track, there’s only one other vocal cut. But with such a wealth of melodic ideas on the piano, the fact that the album is great given over to slight jazz fair isn’t a problem at all.