Mose Allison was born in Tippo, Mississippi in 1927 and began to study the piano when he was just five years old, also taking up trumpet a few years later. His early musical heroes were Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan and Nat “King” Cole, and he devoted his spare time to study and absorb jazz and blues. After moving to New York in 1956 to pursue a music career, he released six albums on the Prestige label in the late 1950s. “I Love The Life I Live” was recorded for Columbia in 1960, and Allison described it this way in the original album notes: “This is an album of groove music. The material consists of four standards, three blues, a very pretty Al Cohn ballad and four of my own compositions. I trust that there is something in it for the veteran and for the greenhorn alike. It certainly contains more good bass players and drummers than most albums. You can hear Jerry Segal (drums) and Addison Farmer (bass) on ‘Night Ride’, ‘Fool’s Paradide’, ‘You Turned The Tables On Me’, ‘Mad With You’ and ‘Path’. Paul Motian (drums) and Henry Grimes (bass) are on ‘I Love The Life I Live’, ‘Hittin’ On One’ and ‘News’. Gus Johnson (drums) and Bill Crow (bass) are heard on ‘I Ain’t Got Nobody’, ‘Isobel’ and ‘Can’t We Be Friends’. I think it all came out pretty well, and I hope you do, too.”