Don Mumford was a Lawrence, Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas

Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...

 jazz musician. In addition to South African jazz

South African jazz

South African jazz is the jazz music of South Africa, also often mistakenly called "African jazz".-History:As in the United States, South African jazz was strongly influenced by the music styles of the black population. That said influences from the US led to its formation...

 pioneer Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), during several productive years in the active music scene of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, his mentors included drummer Mel Brown and the late saxophonist Jim Pepper

Jim Pepper

Jim Pepper was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and singer of Native American ancestry.-Biography:...

. Before leaving Oregon for the international scene Mumford's variegated drumming style was heard in such diverse settings as the play "Red Beans and Rice," Carl Smith's Natural Gas Company and in one especially memorable jazz gig together with Ted Trimble, Steve Christofferson and Nancy King in Eugene. In the 1980s Mumford toured Africa and Europe with Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim , born Adolph Johannes Brand, 9 October 1934 in Cape Town, South Africa, and formerly known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer...

 and Essiet Okon Essiet, as well as with the famed aggregation of the late Sun Ra

Sun Ra

Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...

. In 2007 Mumford showed local artists and community members in Ames, Iowa the importance of a creative community. He helped start a movement to develop the Ames music scene and is the inspiration of Ames band Mumford's. Mumford died in Ames, Iowa

Ames, Iowa

Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...

in July 2007 at age 53 after being involved in a bicycle accident.