[TR24][OF] Alphonse Mouzon - In Search Of A Dream (Remastered) - 1978/2014 (Fusion, Jazz-Rock)

This is an obscure Alphonse Mouzon recording, which, along with Mind Transplant, accounts for Mouzon's best work as a solo artist. The presence of former Weather Report band mate Miroslav Vituous provides for much of the session's excitement ("The Light" being a standout). Fusion vets Philip Catherine, Stu Goldberg, and Joachim Kuhn also turn in fine performances, as does the relatively unknown Bob Malik. There is a great deal of integrity on this session, a quality that was often missing from Mouzon sessions both before and after this. Highly recommended.
There is his irrepressible power and drive, as in “Nightmare”, the fantastically rocking “The Ram and the Scorpio”, and the tour de force duo with Vitous on “The Light”. Yet there are also calmer, quieter moments as in Catherine’s fanciful “Electric Moon”, or Kuhn’s ballad-like “Shoreline” and its sensitive saxophone lines. With its hymn-like guitar improvisations, the title piece seems to be in love with melody. And then there are the acoustic-electric overdubs of the keyboards and bass that conjure up some magnificent musical textures.
Mouzon had assembled an impressive list of creative minds around him. For one thing, he would be recording with his working band at the time, keyboard player Stu Goldberg, bassist Miroslav Vitous, and saxophonist Bob Malik; Vitous was one of the founding members of Weather Report and brought that super group’s musical philosophy with him. He had also invited two close friends, guitarist Philip Catherine and pianist Joachim Kühn, along for the ride. These two would also be contributing a substantial number of compositions to the mix. In the middle of this illustrious circle, Mouzon showed how protean his playing could be.