JAZZ REVIEW : Spirited Allison, Sad Occasion

Mose Allison strolled through some light-hearted prophecies of gloom and doom Thursday night, apt material for what might be some of the final notes of world-class jazz at Elario’s.

Allison concludes an eight-night stand a week from Sunday. The following week, the club will begin a new policy of booking more economical local acts, ending a reign of some seven years as San Diego’s prestige jazz venue.

Despite this looming dark cloud and a half-full room that dwindled to nearly empty by Allison’s second set, the laid-back singer-pianist and his pickup band of San Diegans kept their spirits up.

Allison ambled through more than 30 tunes. His delivery depends on attitude, not vocal range, and although Allison is now 64, his hipness is fully intact.

Though best known for his vocals, Allison is also a first-rate piano player possessed of a rare commodity: a style all his own. Most tunes feature more of Allison’s piano than his voice, and his solos teeter forward with the same zany spirit as his vocals. His piano playing is an idiosyncratic mix of soulful, bar room blues, hard-charging be-bop via Bud Powell and Erroll Garner and huge handfuls of moody Bartokian chords.

As a total package, Allison is without equal. He is a social satirist whose barbs often target America’s greed, politics and assorted woes. Like Gil Scott Heron, he is an opinionated and poetic jazz singer. His is like left-wing satirist Mort Sahl with music, a beat poet with a piano.

Although Allison has a wealth of new material ready for an upcoming recording, he concentrated Thursday on music from earlier releases. He has an amazing knack for taking the flattest old tunes and pumping them full of new life. He transforms “You Are My Sunshine” from a sappy sing-along into a slow dirge and “Hey Good Lookin’ ” from a cornball classic into a hip, swinging affair.

Along with such revived oddities and a plethora of Allison originals such as “Ever Since the World Ended,” “I’m Getting There” and “Look What You Made Me Do,” his sets included songs by masters such as Duke Ellington (“I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues), Nat King Cole (“I Just Can’t See for Lookin’ ”) and Willie Dixon (“I Love the Life I Live”).

Surprise is the common thread running through Allison’s singing and playing. When he finishes singing a phrase, he holds on to the final note, keeping his audience and band in suspense as to when he’ll let go. On piano, he shifts melodic, harmonic and rhythmic gears unpredictably, with the brainy deftness of the late jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.

This week, Allison is receiving solid support from saxophonist Gary LeFebvre. LeFebvre was especially effective on alto, delivering fluid melodic lines with a warm, friendly tone. Bassist Gunnar Biggs gave the music a solid bottom end, but drummer Bob Weller often did more harm than good.

Weller is an excellent timekeeper, but his overly aggressive attacks often overpowered the delicate, intricate solos invented by Allison and LeFebvre. Often, Weller slugged it out with Allison, attempting to match each musical nuance with a thundering, percussive response, burying Allison’s piano in the process.

Allison is the front man here, and his subtle, ingenious vocals and piano playing would be better showcased against a more placid backdrop.

Mose Allison performs at Elario’s in La Jolla at 8:30 p.m. today and Sunday and at 8:30 p.m. Thursday-next Sunday. Call 459-0261.