The Alphonse Mouzon Interview

Technique on the drum kit is essential but meaningless without the infusion of soul. Cats have monster chops but sometimes you look up on the bandstand and they are not listening- they are thrashing trying to eek out some kind of ego maniacal communication that does nothing to elevate the music. My guest today has serious chops and serious soul. It started back with Larry Harlow and Willie Colon and Ray Barretto and Joe Cuba playing drums and timbales on countless Fania albums. The Latin feel the clave beat the infectious cyclical propulsion. His adherence to Afro-Cuban rhythms was evident in the modal driving McCoy Tyner quartet. Channeling Coltrane's thesaurus' of scales and expressing the deep emotive visceral fire of the African American experience in this country. My guest was all over the New York Scene. Playing with folkies like Tim Hardin, Stoner Jazz with Jeremy Steig, Jazz Rock with Larry Coryell knowing that the 11th house comes after 10 but not before 12. It's hard to see live music today. Most bass players and drummers can't sustain the hypnotic pocket. That is not the case with my guest who has to hold it down with Henry the Skipper Franklin locking the groove- or Klaus Doldinger or Brian Auger or Wayne Shorter or John Klemmer. Alphonse Mouzon welcome to the JFS