Fonce Mizell

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Alphonso Fonce Mizell was an American producer and songwriter, born in 1943 and died in 2011. He worked with his brother Larry Mizell, born in 1944, as the Mizell Brothers. Fonce studied music at Howard University, Larry engineering. At that university they formed the jazz vocal quartet the Vanlords. At the beginning of the 1970s they moved to California and started their own company, Sky High Productions.

Music and breakthrough

For Blue Note Records they produced albums that set the tone for the jazz fusion of that time, including with Johnny Hammond Smith, Roger Glenn, The Blackbyrds and Donald Byrd. They often used the same musicians, such as the drummer Harvey Mason, the percussionist Mayuto Correa, the guitarists Wah Wah Watson and David T. Walker, the bassist Chuck Rainey and the pianist Jerry Peters. Later came hits such as Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste of Honey in 1978, Love Ballad by L.T.D. in 1976, which reached number one on the R&B chart, and Gigolo by Mary Wells in 1982. On Donald Byrd's albums they also worked in Motown hits, such as Just My Imagination and Dancing in the Street.

Influence

Before Fonce went his own way, he was with The Corporation, Motown's writing and production team that made the early hits of The Jackson 5, from 1969 to 1971, such as I Want You Back and ABC. In this way he linked the smooth soul of Motown to the jazz and disco of the 1970s. In the 1980s the brothers withdrew from the record industry; in the 2000s they returned.

Listening

Mentioned in other articles

• Jazz-funk GenreThe trumpeter Donald Byrd worked with the producers Larry and Fonce Mizell and made soul and funk records for Blue Note.

See also

• Jazz-funk