Melton Mustafa, Sr. was born in Miami, FL on Nov. 23, 1947. A trumpet player, composer, producer, and educator, Mustafa is the nucleus of a rather accomplished South Florida musical family. He is the younger brother of well-known saxophonist Jesse Jones, Jr. and father to Melton Mustafa, Jr. who also plays the saxophone and Yamin Mustafa, a fellow trumpet player.

As a child, Mustafa wanted to be like his older brother and play the saxophone. However, the only instrument available to him in junior high school was an E-flat alto horn, which Mustafa traded in the next year for the trumpet, an instrument he excelled at greatly. Mustafa's talents led him to receive scholarships that allowed him to study for one summer at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and then on to Mississippi Valley State College and finally to Florida A&M University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education.  He received his Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the University of Miami in 2000.

Throughout his impressive musical career, Mustafa has performed with some of the top names in jazz including the Count Basie Orchestra, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Woody Herman Orchestra, Bobby Watson, Jaco Pastorius, George Cables, John Hicks, Charlie Mingus Dynasty, and Gunter Shuller. Mustafa has also performed in many international jazz festivals, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Ravina Jazz Festival, SS Norway Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Lugano Jazz Festival in Italy, Pori Jazz Festival and the Charlie Mingus Epitaph Orchestra in Russia.

Mustafa's discography includes Scenes from Miami Vol.1: The Softer Side by the Melton Mustafa Quartet; The Traveling Man by Melton Mustafa; St. Louis Blues by the Melton Mustafa Orchestra; and Boiling Point by the Melton Mustafa Orchestra. A small selection of Mustafa's numerous guest appearances include: Count Basie Orchestra's Legend: The Legacy; Count Basie Orchestra's Timeless; Bobby Watson Horizon Quintet's The Inventor; Jaco Pastorious' Birthday Party; Atlantean Driftwood Band's Jazz on The Green; Jesse Jones Jr.'s The So Then Collection and Soul Serenade; Randy Berson's Music for Planets, People and Washing Machines; Author Baron's Afro Blue Band; and Eric Allison's Mean Street Beat.

Mustafa currently lives in Miami with his wife and manager, Zakiyyah.