He May Be Older, but ‘I Feel Like I’m Better Now’ : Jazz: Despite a new album, veteran musician Mose Allison is still doing what he does best: performing live at small clubs.

Mose Allison lives in Long Island, but he has the laid-back manner of a Southern Californian. Nothing seems to knock him from his mellow groove, not even the thought that his record company may have let him down.

Allison, who brings his bluesy jazz vocals and piano to Elario’s for two weeks beginning Wednesday, believes that “Ever Since the World Ended,” released several months ago, is one of his best albums. But, Allison said, it hasn’t received the best distribution.

“People tell me they can’t find it in the stores,” he said by phone from New Orleans, where he was recording a new album last week. “I got great reviews. I’ll probably never get better reviews. But Blue Note evidently doesn’t want to push it.”

During a career about to enter its fifth decade, one of Allison’s best-selling albums was one of his first, the late-’50s “Mose Allison Sings,” reissued in the ‘60s as “The Seventh Son.”

“It’s my earliest songs,” Allison said. “I feel like I’m better now.”

Not that he’s ever counted on his recording career.

“I don’t make my living from records, I make it from playing clubs,” he said.

Allison doesn’t spend much time agonizing over album sales. He’s too busy searching for fresh music.

For the new album, Allison wrote nine songs and chose three somewhat offbeat tunes by other writers, including the satirical “You Call it Jogging,” by Tennessee songwriter John D. Loudermilk.

“It goes, ‘You call it jogging, but I call it running around,’ ” Allison said, reciting the opening line. “My songs are in my usual groove. Some are satirical, some are ironic. Some have a little political context. ‘The Long Song’ is a satire on songwriting. ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ has to do with the conflict everyone faces.”

Another song is “Am I Trying to Serve the Human Race, or Am I Just Along for the Ride?”

Answering for himself, Allison explained, “My art is my service. I put all my energy into that.”

Backing him up on the new album are four New Orleans musicians he’s never used in the studio before. A few of the songs capture some of the flavor of traditional New Orleans jazz, he said.

On stage, Allison has also been trying some different combinations.

Two weeks ago, he played the Beacon Theater in New York City with pop-rock singers Van Morrison and Georgie Fame, at the singers’ request.

“I’ve opened shows for Van, but this is the first time I ever did something with them. Van is a great, talented guy. I did three of my own songs, and they sang parts of them with me.”

Three weeks ago, Allison played a week at Fat Tuesday’s in New York City, his favorite spot to work when he’s home in Long Island.

He feels his playing and singing have never been stronger.

“With my voice, I’ve got better control now than ever before,” he said. “I know more about it.”

Over the years, he’s picked up pointers from unlikely sources.

“I heard Robert Merrill, the famous Metropolitan Opera baritone, on TV one day talking about the proper technique of singing. He talked about the idea of the mask, how you let your face be impassive, you don’t grimace, don’t strain. This gives you better control over your breathing, it lets your sinuses resonate.”

Besides technique, Allison, 62, believes physical conditioning is a key to vocal power. Even when he’s traveling, he tries to run a mile or two or swim a few times a week.

As for his piano playing, Allison said, “Every night I try to do something different. I still consider myself a jazz pianist.”

Though he is best known to jazz fans for his seasoned voice, which influenced a whole generation of singers including Fame and Michael Franks, Allison is also a top-notch pianist.

In the ‘50s, he played in rhythm sections behind such jazz greats as Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. He counts Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk and Dizzy Gillespie among his favorites.

Over the years, he has developed his own voice on piano, an aggressive attack which, with its percussive chording and relentless right-hand melodic inventions, calls to mind McCoy Tyner.

At Elario’s, Allison will be backed by San Diegans Gunnar Biggs on bass, Gary Lefebvre on sax and Bob Weller on drums.

Last year at Elario’s was the first time Allison worked with Lefebvre. Both musicians played with Chet Baker in the ‘50s, and Lefebvre’s sensuous, melodic sound makes an excellent foil for Allison’s deceptively relaxed vocals and quirky piano.

Allison makes his music look easy, but Lefebvre can vouch for its complexities.

“His music is different than anything I’ve ever played. He has his own style. It’s challenging. You have to stay on top of things. The songs can be complex, and they go in unexpected directions.”

KPBS-TV’s (Channel 15) “Club Date” jazz program will feature Allison on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. and again Dec. 22, at 5:30 p.m.