- Mose Allison, Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre's 2010/2011 season opener and jazz series presentation, Monday, July 26 at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre at 8 p.m. Tickets: $38/$35, phone 604-251-1363 or visit tickets.thecultch.com.

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Whether he wants to admit it or not, Mose Allison is a legend.

Not only has the American pianist and singer/songwriter's prowess for jazz and blues resulted in a successful career, but big names like The Who, Van Morrison, The Clash, Elvis Costello and Bonnie Raitt have all paid him tribute by covering his songs. Countless other musicians have been affected by his work -- members of the Rolling Stones and Pixies included.

"I don't know whether I've had a major impact or not, but some people think that I have. Who knows? I don't argue with 'em," the 82-year-old Long Island, New York, resident says.

"I've been doing this 60 years and I've made a living at it so I'm happy," he adds.

Allison, after a lengthy break from the studio, was recently lured back in by producer Joe Henry. The duo recorded Allison's first solo work in 12 years, entitled Way of the World, released on Anti. Allison, who performs more than 100 shows a year, is set to launch the Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre's 2010/2011 season with a performance at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre Monday.

Music entered Allison's life at a young age, thanks to the piano in the house he grew up in the Mississippi Delta.

"I was born on my grandfather's farm, three miles south of Tippo, Miss., which is a crossroads and there's nothing there," he says. "There was a depot there when the train used to stop there but it doesn't stop there anymore. There were about three general stores and a service station and a cotton gin and that was it."

Allison played his first night club gig in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1950. He went to school at Louisiana State University and graduated in 1952 before heading out on the road full time.

"I played everywhere from Dallas to Florida, you name it," he says. "I'd go to a town and if I was going to be there for a while, my wife would get a job and that's the way we got by for several years. Then I heard that jazz musicians were making a living in New York."

Allison opted to head north and arrived in New York in 1956.

"Al Cohn helped me get started," he says. "He was an established arranger and musician in the New York scene. I met his wife down in Galveston. I played behind her, she was a singer, and she told me if I ever got to New York to call Al and he helped me right away."

Allison played with Al and Zoot (Sims) for several years at the Half Note, as well as with Stan Getz and Jerry Mulligan.

"I played with a lot of different people before I started making a living with a trio," he says. "My record came out in '57 and it got good reviews and I slowly started working with my own band."

In the years that followed, Allison continued to perform and record, as a solo artist, as part of ensembles as well as with other musicians. His talent has frequently been acknowledged by major names in the industry, for example, The Who -- who popularized his song "Young Man Blues" in their live shows -- as well as Van Morrison, who recorded Tell Me Something, The Songs of Mose Allison in 1996.

"I've had a lot of covers and there's been a lot of people that have covered my songs. In fact that's what saved me pretty much from obscurity," he laughs, "the fact that a lot of British rockers did my material."

If it weren't for Henry, who's worked with artists including Loudon Wainwright III, Allen Toussaint and Solomon Burke and is Madonna's brother-in-law, Allison's current album may never have materialized.

"Joe Henry talked me into that," says Allison. "I wasn't figuring on recording. I met him on a gig in Düsseldorf, Germany. The gig went well and he said at the time he'd like to record me but I didn't pay any attention to him. But he kept after me, he kept emailing my wife, (Audre), he got her on his side and so I finally decided, 'He's got a great reputation as a producer so why not?'"

The Way of the World features a mix of originals and covers. For example, "My Brain," while a completely new piece, is based on a Willie Dixon song that was inspired by a tune from Sister Rosetta Tharpe called "My Babe." It proved to be a hit for Little Walter Jacobs in the '50s.

One cover, "This New Situation," is a Buddy Johnson song that Allison first heard more than 40 years ago and had been looking for ever since. His daughter, Amy, a singer/songwriter as well, actually found it.

"I've heard her sing since she was five," says Allison. "She had a good ear and when we found this tune we decided to do it together."

While they had played together, and Amy had opened some shows for Allison, this was the first time they'd recorded a duet.

Having had such longevity in the music industry and seeing it undergo so many changes, when asked about his journey, Allison attests his approach has been to let whatever happens, happen.

"I don't pay any attention to the music business," he says. "I just go my own way and that's it. I try to get jobs and play 'em as well as I can and so forth and that's what I've been doing for 60 years."

emcphee@nsnews.com