Mose Allison, pianist and composer, still shoots from the hip at 82

Mose Allison marked his 82nd birthday Wednesday, but anyone expecting the bluesman and inveterate social critic to mellow with age has got the wrong cat.

His gift for timeless barbs and aphoristic invective has served him well, providing Allison with a trunk full of classic songs as sharp and relevant today as when he first wrote them. Sadly, lines like "Everybody's cryin' peace on Earth/Just as soon as we win this war" never seem to go out of style.

"I'm always getting people coming up and saying, 'Did you just write that?' " says Allison, who opens a three-night run at Jazz Alley on Tuesday with his trio (Phil Sparks on bass and Milo Peterson, drums). "I've been writing about that situation for 40 years."

While artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, the Clash and the Who have memorably covered his tunes, Allison is often the most effective interpreter of his own work.

Born and raised in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, he grew up in rustic surroundings, living without electricity or indoor plumbing until he was a teenager.

"I was always sort of an outsider down there," Allison says. "I was a rebellious and mischievous kid, and that sort of continues. I never considered myself part of local landscape."

He earned a degree in English from the University of Louisiana and eventually made his way to New York City, where he established a reputation as a jazz pianist with tenor-sax greats Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn.

Recording for Prestige in the mid-'50s, Allison discovered he could write material that fit his small vocal range while also expressing his unsentimental view of humanity. He doesn't exactly downplay his gift for song writing, but if he works hard at his craft he's not letting on.

"I don't have any work habits," he says. "It's all intuitive. Most of the songs were developed in my head when I couldn't sleep."

Also at Jazz Alley this week

The Seattle jazz club offers a free show Monday night, featuring Brazilian vocalist Montserrat and Seattle's own Latin Grammy-nominated, Brazilian-born pianist Jovino Santos Neto. Reservations are required: 206-441-9729 or www.jazzalley.com.

Andy Gilbert: jazzscribe@aol.com