A Jamaican tenor saxophonist and one of the founding members of the Skatalites.
Born in Havana, Cuba, he came to Jamaica at the age of 2 with his Jamaican mother, and started to learn saxophone while at school.
In 1948, he left school to join Eric Deans' orchestra and soon passed through other bands in the hotel circuit and first recorded as a member of Baba Motta's group in 1952, going on to record frequently as a session musician.
In 1956, he first recorded for Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, although these early recordings were lost before they were mastered. In 1959, he joined the band of Cluett Johnson named Clue J & the Blues Blasters and backed many of Dodd's recording sessions in a typical Jamaican R&B style. He also acted as arranger at many of Dodd's recording sessions.
By 1960, he was recording for many other producers such as Duke Reid, Lloyd 'The Matador' Daley and King Edwards, as well as continuing to work for Dodd, contributing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones and flute to recordings.
During this period he played in many different bands, such as the Alley Cats and the City Slickers. In 1963, after few months spent in Nassau, Bahamas, he took part in the creation of the Studio One Orchestra, the first session band at Dodd's newly-opened recording studio. This band soon adopted the name of the Skatalites.
When the Skatalites disbanded in August 1965, Alphonso formed the Soul Brothers (with Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore and Jackie Mittoo), later renamed the Soul Vendors in 1967. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alphonso led the Ruinaires, the resident band at the Ruins restaurant/nightclub, this coming to an end when he suffered a stroke at the age of 41. He recovered quickly from this setback and relocated to the US in late 1972, soon returning to performing and recording. He released the first album under his name in 1973 on the Studio One record label.
During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, he kept on playing on numerous records coming out from Jamaican studios, especially for Bunny Lee, and he toured with many bands.
He took part in the reformation of the Skatalites in 1983, with whom he toured and recorded constantly until he suffered a burst blood vessel in his head during a show at the Key Club in Hollywood in November 1998. He died in hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a second burst blood vessel and spending four days in a coma.