Luther Allison: I Owe It All To You

If you're hip to Luther Allison from his previous and continuing work—ivory tickling for breakout vocal star/Grammy winner Samara Joy, sideman recordings on the 88s and drums for notables like trombonist Michael Dease, clinics and teaching engagements aplenty, performances at upper tier venues in New York and across the country and abroad—then you already know the man is adept at delivering real musical messages. Exuding joy in every effort, and presenting with depth and myriad dimensions, Allison is a rare artist with the facilities to do what few can and the good taste to know what to hold in reserve.

On this, Allison's leader debut. the rising-star pianist showcases his own compositional and interpretive talents while paying tribute to some of his key influences—members of the Memphis Mafia, like Donald Brown, Mulgrew Miller, James Williams and Harold Mabern. Working with a trio featuring bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Zach Adleman, this University of Tennessee alum delivers a wholly accessible program that consistently impresses and artfully ties him to some towering figures from within his alma mater's state.

Opening with the original title track, Allison immediately gets to the heart of the matter. A paean to the Good Shepherd and to the glories of those who've contributed to his upbringing and development, it's a compelling composition bookended by soulful reflection and centered with exuberant swing. The first and broadest tribute on the record, it serves as a perfect launch pad. The leader's "Until I See You Again," a tale of longing penned after he first met and was then geographically separated from the woman who would become his fiancé, glides as it pines.

Moving in a different direction after that opening coupling, Allison delivers a stretch of well-chosen covers to further embrace and accent the album theme. "Say Dr. J."—Williams' nod to basketball icon Julius Irving—swings hard, with serious pocket play. Steve Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet" brings smiling sounds and pure passion to the surface. Allison's expansion on Brown's solo arrangement of Richard Rodgers' " I Didn't What Time It Was" delights with firm funk and solidly swinging sounds while acknowledging his mentor's influence. And Mabern's "There But for The Grace Of..."—a recommendation from Brown that came out of a conversation surrounding a larger group of mighty Memphis pianists—blends high art, street level sound craft and profound partings into a seamless whole .

Bringing his own pen back into play, Allison girds sophisticated harmony with blues-drenched fastening on "Things We Used to Say." Then it's back to Brown's orbit for the septuagenarian's positively frenetic "New York" cityscape, over to Miller's waltzing and luxuriant "From Day to Day" and on to the leader's vigorous "Lu's Blues" finale. A strong outing and a signal for an even brighter future, I Owe It All To You is most worthy of attention.

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