Alphonse Mouzon, prolific jazz fusion drummer who played in Weather Report and recorded with the likes of Herbie Hancock, passed away on Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. He was 68 years old. According to his son, Jean-Pierre Mouzon, he died of a cardiac arrest. He’d been battling neuroendocrine carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, since September.
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Mouzon found initial fame as part of jazz fusion outfit Weather Report, appearing on their acclaimed 1971 self-titled LP. He continued his rise with Larry Coryell’s jazz-rock fusion group the Eleventh House, with whom he’d released four albums from 1973 to 1975. Later, he hit the studio to assist on projects by Miles Davis and Roberta Flack as well as four Herbie Hancock records.
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Mouzon, who also performed alongside Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Carlos Santana, put out over 20 of his own solo albums. His most recent was 2011’s Angel Face, a collection 11 years in the making.
Below, revisit a few of his songs with Weather Report and Eleventh Hour.
Countless musicians have cited Mouzon as a major influence, including Led Zeppelin, who mentioned him by name during their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech in 1995, and Questlove, who posted a tribute to Mouzon earlier this week.
