Dazz Band, Evelyn "champange" King, Mary Jane Girls, and Diamond Ortiz

From the ashes of the jazz fusion band Bell Telefunk, came the groovable, danceable sounds of Dazz Band. Founded by Bobby Harris in 1977, the saxophone and clarinet player later invited Wayne Preston, Les Thaler, Ed Myers, Michael Wiley, Isaac Wiley, Jr., Michael Colhoun, and Kenny Pettus to complete the lineup. Originally known by the name Kinsman Dazz when the band had residency at the Kinsman Grill in Cleveland, the group signed with 20th Century Records soon after forming and headed to the studio with Marvin Gaye. Producer Gaye was unable to complete the project and at the request of band leader Harris, Earth, Wind & Fire vocalist Philip Bailey was enlisted as producer.

Kinsman Band (as they were still known) released their debut single “I Might as Well Forget About Loving You” in 1978 ahead of the full-length “Kinsman Dazz” the same year. Producer Bailey significantly contributed to the album’s success and subsequently co-produced the band’s sophomore full-length “Dazz” in 1979. The following year the Kinsman Dazz became the Dazz Band and the group signed with Motown Records. Saxophonist Wayne Preston and trumpeter Les Thaler left the band in 1980 and were replaced by trumpeter Sennie Martin, trumpeter Pierre DeMudd, and keyboardist Kevin Kendricks.

Dazz Band’s debut record for Motown was the 1980 album “Invitation to Love” which resulted in a string of hit singles, most notably “Invitation to Love”. The full-length “Let The Music Play” arrived in 1981 led by the Top 50 single “Knock Knock”, followed by the group’s breakthrough hit single “Let It Whip” taken from the 1982 album “Keep It Live”. Produced by Reggie Andrews the single catapulted Dazz Band to notoriety, topped the Billboard R&B charts, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Jazz Band continued to earn a string of hits into the ‘80s, most notably “Party Right Here” (1983), “On the One For Fun” (1983), “Joystick” (1983), and “Let It All Blow” (1984).

Long noted for their high-energy, improvisational performances the group released their ninth studio album “Hot Spot” in 1985, charting at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B Chart. "Hot Spot" was the last record released on Motown Records, after which Dazz Band moved to Geffen Records to release the 1986 full-length “Wild & Free”. The studio album “Rock the Room” rounded off the group’s ’80's releases, following which the group released “Funkology” in 1994, “Under the Streetlights” in 1995, “Double Exposure” in 1997, “Here We Go Again” in 1998, and “Time Traveler” in 2001.