TheMizell Brothers were an American record producing team in the 1970s, consisting ofLarry Mizell (born February 17, 1944) andAlphonso "Fonce" Mizell (January 15, 1943 – July 5, 2011).^[1][2] They worked together on a string ofjazz fusion,crossover jazz, soul,R&B, and disco records.

Larry earned a degree in engineering and Fonce Mizell earned a degree in music fromHoward University. While there they formed and performed in a jazz vocal quartet, the Vanlords. In the early 1970s, Larry and Fonce Mizell moved toCalifornia to start their own company, Sky High Productions. They went on to produce albums forBlue Note Records that set the tone forjazz fusion and the era. They producedJohnny Hammond Smith, Roger Glenn,The Blackbyrds, andDonald Byrd.^[3] The Mizell Brothers often used the same musicians on their albums, includingHarvey Mason on drums,Mayuto Correa on percussion,Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin andDavid T. Walker on guitar,Chuck Rainey on bass andJerry Peters on piano.Freddie Perren and Chuck Davis were sometimes involved as co-writers or co-producers.

Later hits of Sky High Productions includeA Taste of Honey's platinum-selling roller-rink anthem of 1978 "Boogie Oogie Oogie",L.T.D.'s "Love Ballad", a number 1 R&B hit (#20 pop) in 1976, andMary Wells' funky disco12-inch "Gigolo" in 1982. Younger brother Rodney Mizell co-wrote some of their songs, although most material initially was written by Larry Mizell, later joined by Fonce. They also included a number of Motown hits onDonald Byrd's albums includingJust My Imagination andDancing in the Street. In the 1980s, the Mizell brothers retired from the record industry, but returned in the 2000s. Larry Mizell wrote and performed vocals on the song "Play with the Changes" on the4hero album of the same name in 2007.^[4]

As an electrical engineer, Larry Mizell performed testing and reliability work on theLunar Module for the NASAApollo program.^[5] He was one of the first to do research on liquid crystals, which today are used in displays (LCD).^{[citation needed]}

Alphonso Mizell was a member ofThe Corporation, the Motown hit-making production team that wrote and produced all ofThe Jackson 5's early hits from 1969 through 1971, including "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," "Mama's Pearl," and "Maybe Tomorrow." The Corporation also consisted of Motown founderBerry Gordy plus writer-producersDeke Richards, who brought Fonce to the company, andFreddie Perren, a classmate of the Mizells at Howard who also later worked for Sky High Productions.

When Motown moved to Los Angeles, the Mizells joined up with trumpet playerDonald Byrd under whom they had studied while at Howard University. Their first album,Black Byrd on theBlue Note label, was the first of a string of albums together that would definejazz-funk and lay the foundation foracid jazz andneo soul.Alphonso died of heart failure on July 5, 2011 at age 68.^[6][2]

According to Larry Mizell's son, Larry Mizell Jr., the Mizell Brothers are cousins toRun-DMC memberJam Master Jay as well asRonnie Spector,Estelle Bennett andNedra Talley of the 1960s girl groupThe Ronettes and related to songwriterAndy Razaf.^[7]

• Mizell Brothers atAllMusic
• RBMA Radio On Demand - Melbourne Marvels - Mizell Brothers (Sky High Productions, Los Angeles) onRed Bull Music Academy Radio
• Mizell Brothers – aRed Bull Music Academy (RBMA) video lecture session
• Mizell Brothers fanpage

• Record producers from New York (state)
• Record production duos
• American songwriting teams
• Sibling musical duos
• Motown artists
• Blue Note Records artists
• Capitol Records artists
• American pop music groups
• American soul musical groups
• Run-DMC

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