While attending the Alabama A&M College Mel first met Fred Wesley. During the mid-sixties Wesley, who went on to work with James Brown a.o., already played the kind of music that made a lasting impression on Mel. After four semesters Mel left Alabama for the Nassau Com. College on Long Island, New York. It was there that he gained experience as concert shows with Chick Corea, Hank Mobley, Thad Jones, or James Brown were a daily occurrence. Post-graduate, Mel joined the U.S. army to be based at Munich where he soon begins working as a studio musician.