A Mellower Mouzon Is Due at Humphrey’s

During the mid-1970s, drummer Alphonse Mouzon pounded himself into the minds of fusion jazz fans with his machine-gun attack behind guitarist Larry Coryell in The Eleventh House band. Mouzon has diversified and mellowed since then. During the 1980s, he turned out a series of light jazz recordings packed with lush melodies and thick electronic instrumentation, but little of his former fire.

His newest album, “As You Wish,” released this year, continues this lighter mode. Mouzon plays drums, digital drums, electric bass, percussion and assorted synthesizers, with saxophonist Gary Meeks doing the lion’s share of the melodic duties.

Mouzon is also engrossed in a legal battle with Optimism, his label from 1986-88.

Among his charges are that he received only $13,000 in royalties from his 1988 hit album, “Early Spring,” which the label says sold 50,000 to 60,000 copies. Mouzon said he should have netted about $70,000. Optimism also rereleased the 1981 “Morning Sun” album on compact disc in 1988 without Mouzon’s permission, making a new pirate master tape from the original vinyl LP--the resulting sound quality was horrible. After several stages of trial proceedings, Mouzon has received $16,250 from Optimism for copyright infringement. He was awarded an additional $28,000 earlier this month, but must wait six months while Optimism appeals. Eventually, he wants a retrial, and he seeks a settlement of at least $3 million, down from his original request of $14 million for a variety of violations of his deal with Optimism.

Meanwhile, he has discovered a new source of income--licensing his music to televised soap operas and sports programs.

“I made $8,000 in June from ‘General Hospital’ and ‘One Life to Live,’ and I can make $4,000 during one weekend of golf on ‘CBS Sports,’ ” he said.

Mouzon is mixing a new album for release later this year or early next, and he also hopes to remake some of his ‘70s fusion music, record an acoustic jazz album and maybe even a heavy metal session.

With all of his successes and experience, it seems odd that Mouzon would be tabbed for next Wednesday night’s “Rising Star Concert” at the Catamaran Resort Hotel in Mission Beach. Mouzon will concentrate on music from his most recent albums, including “As You Wish,” “Early Spring,” “Back to Jazz” and “Love Fantasy,” backed by his touring band.

Unlike the broad-minded Mouzon, veteran jazz drummer Louis Hayes continues in the pure acoustic jazz vein he started out in during the 1950s, in bands led by pianist Horace Silver and reed man Yusef Lateef, and continued in during the 1960s in bands headed by saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and pianist Oscar Peterson.

Hayes plays Elario’s next Monday and Tuesday nights with his own band, including Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Clint Houston on bass, George Cables on piano and John Stubblefield on sax.

Sets will include music from Hayes’ “Una Max” album, released earlier this year and named in honor of fellow drummer Max Roach. Hayes said being a leader doesn’t make him play drums any differently than he would on someone else’s session.

“The only difference is I’m more in control if I want to have certain things featuring myself. A lot of times if the drummer is not the leader, people just want the rhythm section to fit in.” On “Una Max,” Hayes gave himself three drum solos, and promised several in San Diego.

Carlsbad ends its summer outdoor jazz series with a performance from 6 to 8 tomorrow night by Ira Liss and the Big Band Jazz Machine in Magee Park at Carlsbad Boulevard and Beech Street. The program grew to nine shows this year from six last year. Colleen Finnegan, the city’s community arts coordinator, pronounced the events “very successful,” and said they drew at least 400 to 450 listeners to local parks each week. There were glitches, though. The most glaring was the scheduled Aug. 10 appearance by Gene Perry and his group Afro Rumba. Perry didn’t show up for the date and sent stand-ins, including multi-instrumentalist Turiya and keyboard man Joe Garrison. “I did not get five guys in matching shirts banging out the Caribbean beat,” Finnegan lamented. “I got five musicians doing standards with a Latin beat.”

RIFFS: Top jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, a capable player in both straight-ahead and lighter commercial modes, plays Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday. Saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. is on at Humphrey’s this Monday night at 7 and 9. . . .

Jazz plays a part in this weekend’s Music & Arts Fair at Robb Field in Ocean Beach, a benefit for the Ocean Beach Recovery and Referral Institute, which offers daily meetings of Cocaine Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups. Trumpeter Mitch Manker and his group play at 11 a.m., followed by Kokopelli, featuring Turiya, Joe Garrison and Dave Millard about 1:30. . . .

Pianist Kenny Barron completes two weeks at Elario’s tonight through Sunday night. Barron is featured on KPBS-TV’s “Club Date” program Saturday night at 11, repeating Monday night at 11:30. . . .

Flutist Holly Hofmann plays the San Diego Museum of Art’s “Jazz After Work” series with her quartet today from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. . . .

Jack Aldridge’s Big Band plays Sunday afternoons from 2 to 5 at Surfside Restaurant in Solana Beach through Sept. 23. . . .

Guitarist Peter Sprague teams up with singer Kevyn Lettau for an 8 p.m. show Friday night at Words + Music bookstore in Hillcrest. . . .

Fluegelhorn man Tony Guerrero closes the Lites Out Jazz summer series at the Old Ferry Landing in Coronado from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday. . . .

South Market Street closes out the Dixieland Jazz & Razzmatazz series at the East County Performing Arts Center in El Cajon with a 2 p.m. performance Sunday. . . .

The San Diego Historical Dixieland Banjo Society plays the Twilight Concert Series in Balboa Park from 6:30 to 7:30 tonight. . . .

Saxophonist Gary LeFebvre puts his big band to work next Tuesday night at 8 for KSDS-FM’s (88.3) “Jazz Live” concert in the San Diego City College Theatre, broadcast live.