Alphonse Mouzon: The Sky Is The Limit (1996)

This is a perfect mixture of smooth contemporary jazz & soulful funk w. Richard Elliot-sax, Ronnie Laws-sax, Larry Coryell-gtr, Ray Parker Jr.-gtr + 1985

Tracks 9-12 are previously released on THE 11TH HOUSE (LP).

Personnel: Alphonse Mouzon (electric piano, keyboards, synthesizer, drums, percussion); Paul Jackson, Jr., Ray Parker, Jr., Torsten de Winkel (guitar, electric guitar); Larry Coryell (electric guitar); Richard Elliot (lyre, tenor saxophone, lyricon); Chris Schneider, Ernie Watts, Christian Schneider, Ronnie Laws (tenor saxophone); Terumasa Hino (cornet, flugelhorn); Geoff Stradling (electric piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Mike Mandel (electric piano); John Lee, Kai Eckhardt-Karpeh, Nathan East (electric bass); Julia Waters, Maxine Willard Waters (background vocals).

Tracklist:

1. Why Don't You Break It

2. Jean-Pierre

3. Do You Want to Dance?
4. Making Love With You
5. Come and See What I've Got
6. Sky Is the Limit, The
7. Starting All over Again
8. Rock & Roll Waltz, The
9. Don't Break My Funk
10. Old Friends
11. Night for Love
12. One More Time
The Sky Is The Limit
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Alphonse Mouzon: Back to Jazz (2010) Originally Released on 1985

Throughout his career, drummer Alphonse Mouzon has been featured in many different settings. Some of his own recordings as a leader have been purposely commercial, but this date (originally released by Pausa and reissued by Mouzon on his Tenacious label) is more jazz-oriented. Most selections feature the fine altoist Doug Norwine (where has he been since?), in a quartet with Mouzon, pianist Jeff Daniels (doubling on synth) and bassist Welton Gite; on many of the numbers, Mouzon and Daniels also utilize synths, and "Peace on Earth" has vocal appearances by the drummer's two children. There is also a brief feature ("Space Commander") for Mouzon's electronic percussion. An interesting set worth picking up.

Tracklist:

01. St. Thomas
02. Time We Love, The
03. Poobli
04. Space Commander
05. Peace on Earth
06. Baker's Daughter, The
07. Just Because of You
08. Step into the Funk - (bonus track)
09. When We Were Young - (bonus track)
10. Hello, I Must Be Going - (bonus track)
Back to Jazz
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Alphonse Mouzon: The Survivor (1992)

First class recording, featuring a diverse and interesting line-up of jazz guest stars. Notables such as Lee Ritenour on guitar, Brandon Fields on alto sax, Russ Freeman on acoustic guitar, and many others work together to help Mouzon create a wonderful, joyous celebration of life through jazz. Extremely well recorded, the sound just pops out of the speakers and fills the house.

Tracklist:

01. Games People Play

02. Feeling Good
03. Two Lonely Hearts
04. All That Jazz
05. After the Rain
06. Survivor, The
07. It's Not over Yet
08. Soft and Gentle
09. Anticipation
10. In Hot Pursuit
11. Bedtime Stories

Personnel: Alphonse Mouzon (piano, synthesizer, drums, percussion); Phillip Ingram (vocals); Russ Freeman , Lee Ritenour (guitar, acoustic guitar); Gary Meek (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); George Howard (soprano saxophone); Brandon Fields (alto saxophone); Ernie Watts, Kirk Whalum, Richard Elliot (tenor saxophone); Welton Gite (electric bass); Lynn Fiddmont, Sandra Simmons, Lynne Fiddmont, Portia Griffin (background vocals).

The Survivor

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McCoy Tyner: Sahara (1972)

After the death of John Coltrane, his longtime pianist McCoy Tyner was in something of a musical quandary. Keeping up with his mentor through the incredible explorations of the early '60s, he seemed to have some difficulty navigating the even further out territories explored in the two or three years before Coltrane's death in 1967. His subsequent albums as a leader were solid, enjoyable efforts but seemed oddly retrograde, as though he needed time to settle back and re-digest the information handed down to him. With Sahara, Tyner found the precise perfect "middle ground" on which to stand, more structured than late Coltrane, but exploding with a ferocity and freedom of sound that made it simply one of the greatest jazz recordings of the decade. None of the other members of his quartet ever sounded so inspired, so liberated as they do here. Sonny Fortune threatens to tear the roof off the joint on more than one occasion, Calvin Hill is more than rock-solid on bass, his roots arcing deeply into the earth, and as for Alphonse Mouzon, well, no one familiar with his later vapid meanderings in fusion would begin to recognize him here, so incendiary is his playing. And Tyner develops so much pure energy, channeled with such pinpoint precision, that one worries about the physical stability of any piano under such an assault. From the extraordinarily intense "Ebony Queen" through the ruminative solo "A Prayer for My Family, the equally intense "Rebirth," and the concluding, side-long title track, there's not a misstep to be heard. "Sahara," over the course of its 23 minutes, covers vast ground, echoing the majesty and misery of the geographical area with percussion and flute interludes to some of Tyner's very best playing on record. Even something that could have resulted in a mere exercise in exotica, his koto performance on "Valley of Life," exudes both charm and commitment to the form. Tyner would go on to create several fine albums in the mid-'70s, but never again would he scale quite these heights. Sahara is an astonishingly good record and belongs in every jazz fan's collection.

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Sahara - Part 1 - Part 2 (RS) / Sahara - Part 1 - Part 2 (HF) flac

Alphonse Mouzon: Mind Transplant (1975)

Drummers Alphonse Mouzon and Billy Cobham led almost parallel careers during the 1970s and helped to raise the bar by which all subsequent drummers were to be judged. They were both in legendary fusion bands (Mouzon in Weather Report and Larry Coryell's Eleventh House and Cobham in Dreams and the Mahavishnu Orchestra), both led their own successful bands, both reinvented jazz-rock drumming, and both released one classic, genre-defining recording. Cobham's classic was Spectrum, a recording that is regularly considered as one of the genre's best. This, Mind Transplant, is Mouzon's classic recording that is often hailed as "Spectrum II." The common thread, besides the aggressive drumming, is guitarist Tommy Bolin. Where Cobham used Bolin's aggressive playing as a counterpoint to Jan Hammer, Mouzon features the guitarist as the primary attraction. The tunes themselves may not be as memorable as, say, "Red Baron" or "Stratus," but the playing is no less inspired. Mouzon and Bolin are a natural fit and push themselves to levels of creativity and skill that few can attain. Raw and powerful, the music herein is what made fusion such a viable musical style. This recording has never been as popular as Spectrum, but was finally released on CD in 1993 with the addition of the 15-minute jam session "The Real Thing." Easily one of the best fusion recordings of all time.

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Mind Transplant (RS) / Mind Transplant (MU)