Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American musician and vocalist, most prominently known as a

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

drummer. He was also a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. Mouzon gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the owner of Tenacious Records, a label that primarily released Mouzon's recordings.

Biography

Early life

Mouzon, of African, French, and

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

descent, was born on November 21, 1948, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. He received his first musical training at Bonds-Wilson High School, and moved to New York City upon graduation. He studied drama and music at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, as well as medicine at Manhattan Medical School. He continued receiving drum lessons from Bobby Thomas, the drummer for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

. He played percussion in the 1968

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

show '' Promises, Promises'', and he then worked with pianist

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

. He spent a year as a member of the

band,

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon a ...

. After that Mouzon signed as a solo artist to the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

label in 1972.

Career

Mouzon's visibility increased during his tenure with guitarist

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

's Eleventh House fusion band from 1973 to 1975. Albums from this period include ''Introducing the Eleventh House'', ''Level One'', ''Mind Transplant'' (a solo album), and in 1977, a reconciliation recording with Coryell entitled ''Back Together Again''. Mouzon recorded ''

Mind Transplant ''Mind Transplant'' is the third album by American jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon recorded in 1974 and released on the Blue Note label.

'' in 1974 with guitarists

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

and

Tommy Bolin Thomas Richard Bolin (August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976) was an American rock guitarist who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), the James Gang (from 1973 to 1974), Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), with Billy Cobham on his first record tit ...

who had previously played on

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

's ''

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

''. He recorded four R&B albums: ''The Essence of Mystery'' (Blue Note, 1972), ''Funky Snakefoot'' (Blue Note, 1973), ''The Man Incognito'' (Blue Note, 1976) (including "Take Your Troubles Away"), and in the 1980s ''By All Means'', which featured

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

, the Seawind Horns, and

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

. Mouzon performed with many prominent jazz fusion musicians. In 1991, he performed with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

on the movie soundtrack album entitled ''Dingo''. Mouzon composed the song ''The Blue Spot'' for the jazz club scene, and appeared as an actor and drummer in the

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

-directed film, ''

That Thing You Do ''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did no ...

'' in 1996. Alphonse Mouzon played the role of Miles in the film ''The Highlife'', which was exhibited at a film festival in Houston in 2003. He also can be seen with

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

and

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...

in the film '' First Daughter'', and as Ray in the movie '' The Dukes'', along with

Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, singer, and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing Jake Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (19 ...

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
. Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an America ...

and

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for ''Fi ...

. Mouzon played with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and the Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age an ...

Betty Davis Betty Davis (born Betty Gray Mabry; July 26, 1944 – February 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter ...

, and

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

, lead singer of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, during his acceptance speech for induction into the 1995

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

, listed Alphonse Mouzon as one of the band's influences from American music. In 1992, Mouzon formed Tenacious Records, and released his album ''The Survivor''. Subsequent releases on Tenacious Records, including re-issues of earlier albums, included ''On Top of the World'', ''Early Spring'', ''By All Means'', ''Love Fantasy'', ''Back to Jazz'', ''As You Wish'', ''The Night is Still Young'', ''The Sky is the Limit'', ''Distant Lover'', ''Morning Sun'', and ''Absolute Greatest Love Songs and Ballads''. The 1981 album ''Morning Sun'' was his most successful album in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines. Most songs in the album, notably the title track, were extensively played on various FM and AM radio stations during that time, and are still being used in advertisements, commercials, social events, and radio news programmes in that country. Mouzon played on a recording with

Albert Mangelsdorff Albert Mangelsdorff (September 5, 1928 – July 25, 2005) was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics. Early life Mangelsdorff was born in Frankfurt on September 5, 1928, as the son of the book ...

(trombone), and

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

(bass), named ''Trilogue''. Originally recorded in 1976, and re-released in 2005, this performance was from November 6, 1976, at the Berlin Jazz Days. In 2014, Mouzon was invited by producer Gerry Gallagher to record with Latin rock legends

El Chicano El Chicano was an American brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporated various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa. The group's name came from the word Chicano, a term for Un ...

, as well as

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto (band), Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrot ...

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric B ...

Alex Ligertwood Alexander John Ligertwood (; ) (born 18 December 1946) is a Scottish singer, guitarist and drummer. Early life, family and education Ligertwood was born in Drumchapel, Glasgow, Scotland. Career He is best known as the lead vocalist of Santa ...

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the animated series '' The ...

, Lenny Castro,

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than five decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has ...

Pete Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo Jr. (born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg, California) is an American percussionist. Career With his two brothers, he formed the Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Carlos Santana hired Pete and Coke Escovedo for his grou ...

, Peter Michael Escovedo,

Jessy J Jessica Arellano (born December 20, 1982) known professionally as Jessy J, is an American saxophonist. Biography Jessy J was born Jessica Arellano on December 20, 1982, in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Hemet, California. Of Mexican-Ameri ...

, Marcos J. Reyes,

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand ...

, Walfredo Reyes Jr.,

Salvador Santana Salvador Santana (born May 22, 1983) is a singer, spoken word artist, songwriter, and composer. His main instruments are the electronic keyboard and piano. He is the son of ten-time Grammy winning guitarist Carlos Santana and poet/author/activist ...

, and

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh musician. He founded the Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", " Somebody Help Me", "Gimme Some Lov ...

, and is featured on drums on two tracks ''Make Love'' and ''The Viper'', that are part of Gallagher's most recent studio album due to be released in 2019.

Health problems and death

On September 7, 2016, Mouzon was diagnosed with

neuroendocrine carcinoma Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are neoplasms that arise from cells of the endocrine (hormonal) and nervous systems. They most commonly occur in the intestine, where they are often called carcinoid tumors, but they are also found in the pancreas, lu ...

, a rare form of cancer. His son, Jean-Pierre Mouzon, reported his father had died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

at his home in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California, on December 25, 2016, at the age of 68.

Awards and honors

* Listed in the second edition of ''

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' in Entertainment and ''Who's Who in the World'' * Voted the No. 2 best multi-instrumentalist in the 1995 ''Jazziz'' Magazine Annual Readers' Poll

Discography

As leader

* '' The Essence of Mystery'' (Blue Note, 1973) * '' Funky Snakefoot'' (Blue Note, 1973) * ''

Mind Transplant ''Mind Transplant'' is the third album by American jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon recorded in 1974 and released on the Blue Note label.

'' (Blue Note, 1975) * '' The Man Incognito'' (Blue Note, 1976) * ''Live at Berlin Jazz Days'' with Trilogue (MPS, 1977) * ''Virtue'' (MPS, 1977) * ''In Search of a Dream'' (MPS, 1978) * ''Baby Come Back'' (Metronome, 1979) * ''Morning Sun'' (Pausa, 1981) * ''By All Means'' (Pausa, 1981) * ''Distant Lover'' (Highrise, 1982) * ''The Sky Is the Limit'' (Pausa, 1985) * ''The Eleventh House'' with Larry Coryell (Pausa, 1985) * ''Back to Jazz'' (L+R, 1986) * ''Love, Fantasy'' (Optimism, 1987) * '' Early Spring'' (Optimism, 1988) * ''As You Wish'' with Final Notice (Jazzline, 1989) * ''Now'' with Infinity (Inak, 1991) * ''Nevertheless'' with Just Friends (In+Out, 1992) * ''The Survivor'' (Tenacious, 1992) * ''On Top of the World'' (Tenacious, 1994) * ''The Night Is Still Young'' (Tenacious, 1996) * ''Fusion Jam'' with Tommy Bolin (1999) * ''Live in Hollywood'' (Tenacious, 2001) * ''Jazz in Bel-Air'' (Tenacious, 2008) * ''Angel Face'' (Tenacious, 2011)

As sideman

With

* '' Introducing Eleventh House with Larry Coryell'' (Vanguard, 1974) * '' Level One'' (Arista, 1975) * '' Planet End'' (Vanguard, 1975) * ''Back Together Again'' (Atlantic, 1977) * ''At Montreux'' (Vanguard, 1978) * ''The Coryells'' (Chesky, 2000) * ''January 1975'' (Promising Music, 2014) * ''Seven Secrets'' (Savoy, 2016) With

* '' Directstep'' (CBS/Sony, 1979) * '' Mr. Hands'' (Columbia, 1980) * ''

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

'' (Columbia, 1980) * '' Magic Windows'' (Columbia, 1981) With

Robin Kenyatta Robin Kenyatta (March 6, 1942 – October 26, 2004) was an American jazz alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. Early life Born Robert Prince Haynes in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Kenyatta grew up in New York City and began playing the saxophone a ...

* ''Stompin' at the Savoy'' (Atlantic, 1974) * ''Beggars and Stealers'' (Muse, 1977) With

* ''

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

'' (Milestone, 1972) * '' Song for My Lady'' (Milestone, 1973) – rec. 1972 * '' Song of the New World'' (Milestone, 1973) * ''

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

'' (Milestone, 1973) – live With

Jasper van 't Hof Jasper van 't Hof (born 30 June 1947) is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player. Van 't Hof was born in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, and began studying piano at the age of five. He played in jazz bands at school, and by the age of 19 was ...

* ''However'' (MPS, 1978) * ''Live in Montreux'' (Pausa, 1980) * ''Nevertheless'' (In+Out, 1992) With others *

Arild Andersen Arild Andersen (born 27 October 1945) is a Norwegian jazz musician bassist, known as the most famous Norwegian bass player in the international jazz scene. Career Andersen was born at Strømmen, Norway. He started his musical career as jazz g ...

, '' A Molde Concert'' (ECM, 1982) * Carl Anderson, ''Fantasy Hotel'' (GRP, 1992) *

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

, ''Ubiquity'' (Polydor, 1970) *

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few h ...

, ''

Caricatures A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

'' (Blue Note, 1976) *

Doug Carn Doug Carn (born July 14, 1948) is an American jazz musician from St. Augustine, Florida, formerly married to Jean Carne and known for his several albums released for Black Jazz Records. Carn is a multi-instrumentalist known primarily for his work ...

, ''Spirit of the New Land'' (Black Jazz, 1972) *

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is poss ...

, ''Dance of Magic'' (Cobblestone, 1972) *

Joe Cuba Gilberto Miguel Calderón (April 22, 1931 – February 15, 2009), known professionally as Joe Cuba, was an American conga drummer of Puerto Rican descent widely regarded as the "Father of Latin Boogaloo". Early years Gilberto Miguel Calderón ...

, ''Cocinando La Salsa'' (Fania, 2008) *

, ''Crashin' from Passion'' (P-Vine, 1995) *

, ''

Dingo The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1991) *

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

, ''

'' (

Ampex Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excell ...

, 1970) – rec. 1969 *

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

, ''Live'' (Fania, 1978) *

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

, '' Feel Like Makin' Love'' (Atlantic, 1974) * Rodney Franklin, ''Learning to Love'' (Columbia, 1982) *

Carlos Garnett Carlos Garnett (December 1, 1938 - March 3, 2023) was a Panamanian-American jazz saxophonist. Biography Garnett was born on December 1, 1938, in Red Tank, Panama Canal Zone.He became interested in jazz after hearing the music of Louis Jordan an ...

, ''The New Love'' (Muse, 1978) *

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...

, '' Bird on a Wire'' (Columbia, 1971) *

Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer. She has recorded twelve albums over the course of her career, mostly playing jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. In 1971, she was the first female instrume ...

, '' Dig This!'' (Blue Note, 1972) * Paul Jackson, ''Black Octopus'' (Eastworld, 1978) *

Paul Jackson Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American Jazz fusion, fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. In addition to being a recording artist in his own right, Jackson is also a session player, with a career ...

, ''Never Alone'' (Blue Note, 1996) *

Alphonso Johnson Alphonso Johnson (born February 2, 1951) is an American jazz bassist active since the early 1970s. Johnson was a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1973 to 1975, and has performed and recorded with numerous high-profile rock and ...

, ''Moonshadows'' (Epic, 1976) * Kimiko Kasai, ''Butterfly'' (CBS/Sony, 1979) *

John Klemmer John T. Klemmer (born July 3, 1946) is an American saxophonist, composer, songwriter, and arranger. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and began playing guitar at the age of five and alto saxophone at the age of 11. His other earl ...

, '' Magic and Movement'' (Impulse!, 1974) *

Joachim Kühn Joachim Kurt Kühn (born 15 March 1944) is a German jazz pianist. Biography Kühn was born in Leipzig, Germany. He was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition, with Arthur Schmidt-E ...

, ''Hip Elegy'' (MPS/BASF 1976) * Rolf Kühn, ''Cucu Ear'' (MPS, 1980) *

Azar Lawrence Azar Lawrence (born November 3, 1952) is an American jazz saxophonist, known for his contributions as sideman to McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw. Career Lawrence released ''Summer Solstice'' on Prestige Records in 1975, ...

, ''Prayer for My Ancestors'' (Furthermore, 2008) *

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He is known for his innovations in soul jazz and his Swiss Movement, 1969 recording of the protest song "Compared to What". His music ha ...

, ''

Invitation to Openness ''Invitation to Openness'' is an album by pianist Les McCann recorded in 1971 and released on the Atlantic label.Freed., RLes McCann Discographyaccessed March 8, 2016 Reception Allmusic gives the album 4 stars stating "Every nuance of McCann's ...

'' (Atlantic, 1972) *

Eugene McDaniels Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer, producer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart wit ...

, ''Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse'' (Atlantic, 1971) *

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

, '' Land of the Midnight Sun'' (Columbia, 1976) *

, '' The Story of I'' (Atlantic, 1976) *

Teruo Nakamura was a Taiwanese soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army who fought for Japan in World War II and did not surrender until 1974. He was the last known Japanese holdout to surrender after the end of hostilities in 1945. Military service Nakamura ...

, ''Unicorn'' (Three Blind Mice, 1973) * Tony Newton, ''Mysticism & Romance'' (NCI, 1978) *

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

, ''Talk Back'' (WEA, 1988) *

Freda Payne Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an American singer and actress. Payne is best ...

, ''Supernatural High'' (Capitol, 1978) *

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

, '' Odyssey of Iska'' (Blue Note, 1971) *

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

, '' Temple of Birth'' (Columbia, 1975) * Charles Sullivan, ''Genesis'' (Strata-East, 1974) * Bill Summers, ''Feel the Heat'' (Prestige, 1977) *

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

, ''Sending Love to Everyone'' (Walden, 1995) *

, ''

'' (Columbia, 1971) * Torsten de Winkel, ''Mastertouch'' (EMI, 1985)

References

External links

*
Alphonse Mouzon
at

Drummerworld ''Drummerworld'' is a Swiss drum website created by Bernhard Castiglioni in 1997. The site focuses on the biographies of prominent rock and jazz drummers and features drum lessons along with a discussion forum. ''Drummerworld'' also features Dr ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouzon, Alphonse 1948 births 2016 deaths Deaths from cancer in California Musicians from Charleston, South Carolina Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) African-American drummers American jazz drummers City College of New York alumni Weather Report members Blue Note Records artists Pausa Records artists Jazz fusion drummers The Eleventh House members 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Drummers from South Carolina American male drummers