Melton Mustafa, the younger brother to saxophonist Jesse Jones Jr., is an expressive, hotblooded trumpeter. He played mainly jazz in the 1980s, ’90s, but also did his fair share of R&B sessions throughout the years. Mustafa was raised in Miami and began playing trumpet in junior high. He also played in a five-piece R&B/calypso group as a teenager. Mustafa graduated from Florida A&M in music education in the 1960s as a young adult. Mustafa was a backing singer for many soul artists during the late ’60s to ’70s. These included Betty Wright and Latimore, Joe Simon, Joe Simon, and Sam & Dave. He still wanted to play jazz and his visibility in the Miami jazz scene increased after he was hired by Ira Sullivan, a hard bopper from Chicago. Mustafa was a member of the Duke Ellington ghost Orchestra, which was directed by Mercer Ellington. He was also employed as a sideman for Jaco Pastorius, Bobby Watson and John Hicks in the 1980s. Mustafa joined Count Basie’s ghost orchestra in 1984. He stayed with the band for eight years, before forming his own band in 1992. After signing with Contemporary/Fantasy, Mustafa recorded his first album a leader, Boiling Point, in 1995, followed by St. Louis Blues in 1997.
