{"id":1671,"date":"2011-07-14T11:07:23","date_gmt":"2011-07-14T16:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.lunarpages.net\/?p=1671"},"modified":"2013-05-29T18:48:22","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T23:48:22","slug":"two-by-johnny-hammond-smith-bw-rip-fonce-mizell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=1671","title":{"rendered":"Two by Johnny Hammond Smith b\/w RIP Fonce Mizell"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alphonso ‘Fonce’ Mizell and Larry Mizell
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Listen\/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Shifting Gears (45 Edit) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Los Conquistadores Chocolates (45 Edit) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Greetings all.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The end of another week is upon us, and while I am as always up to my substantial ass in alligators, they are all (for a change<\/em>) well trained and waiting to be fed.<\/p>\n

I will be taking to the airwaves of the interwebs once again this Friday night at 9PM for this week\u2019s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show<\/strong> on Viva Radio<\/strong><\/a>. This time out I have a very groovy, very summery set prepared, so if I was you I\u2019d be muddling the mint and the lime for and icing up the mojitos since this will provide a better than suitable soundtrack for the sipping of hot weather beverages.<\/p>\n

As always, if you have something better to do when the show airs, but still think that stuffing some groovy music into your ears will be beneficial, you can always stop by the blog over the weekend and pick the show up in MP3 form.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

That said, if you\u2019re in New York City on Monday night, 7\/18 I will be manning the decks at Spindletop @ Botanica<\/strong> and will be joined by my friends M-Fasis<\/strong> and Joe Cristando<\/strong> for the spinning of the funky vinyl. I assure you that the sounds will be, in a word, oustand-a-licious<\/em> (it\u2019s made up, but it\u2019s still a word), so you should fall by, see Dan<\/strong> at the bar about a cocktail and settle in for a night of good music.<\/p>\n

As promised I will be using the end of week post to pay tribute to the passing of the great Alphonso \u2018Fonce\u2019 Mizell.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know the name, Fonce Mizell, over the course of a career that lasted more than forty years left his mark on countless fantastic records.<\/p>\n

He came up in Englewood, NJ alongside his brother Larry<\/strong> and their classmate Freddie Perren<\/strong>, all of whom eventually headed down to Howard University in Washington, DC (where they would cross paths with both Donny Hathway<\/strong> (student) and Donald Byrd<\/strong> (teacher).<\/p>\n

Following graduation, Larry Mizell would detour for a time into a non-musical career as an engineer, and Fonce Mizell and Freddie Perren would head west to Los Angeles. They would both eventually be signed to Motown as staff writers, where they would eventually become (with Berry Gordy<\/strong> and Deke Richards<\/strong>) part of the songwriting and production team known as \u2018The Corporation\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Corporation made their biggest mark working with the Jackson Five<\/strong>, writing and producing the group\u2019s biggest early hits like \u2018ABC\u2019, \u2018The Love You Save\u2019 and \u2018I Want You Back\u2019.<\/p>\n

After The Corporation went their separate ways in 1972, Larry and Fonce Mizell reunited, forming Sky High Productions<\/strong>, working in the studio with artists like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz, Bobbie Humphrey, the Blackbyrds<\/strong> and today\u2019s featured artist Johnny Hammond Smith.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tracks featured today are the 45 edits of two tracks from Hammond\u2019s 1975 \u2018Gears\u2019 LP (his second with the Mizells) , produced and almost completely written by Larry and Fonce Mizell. The album featured Sky High stalwarts like Harvey Mason<\/strong> (drums) and Chuck Rainey<\/strong> (bass) and both the Mizell brothers on backing vocals.<\/p>\n

The oft-sampled \u2018Shifting Gears\u2019 is a funky electric piano showcase for Smith with fantastic contributions from Michael White<\/strong> on electric violin. The tune is a wonderful example of the Mizell brothers ability to craft a mixture of jazz fusion and funk with modern, dance floor-friendly production.<\/p>\n

\u2018Los Conquistadores Chocolates\u2019 is really the standout here, and a quick listen reveals why it was an early favorite at David Mancuso\u2019s<\/strong> Loft parties and the disco scene in general. Opening with synthesized piano, drums, guitar, the tune bursts out into waves of stylish, synthesized strings. It never loses the propulsive power that so endeared it to the dancers, yet the Mizells and Smith manage to weave together a complex mixture of Smith\u2019s Hammond organ, piano (electric and acoustic), vibes, guitar, drums and percussion that never gets crowded and is always pleasing and intriguing to the ear. The 45 edit omits the trippy opening interlude from the album, as well as the last minute and a half of the tune (you can hear the whole thing over at YouTube).<\/p>\n

Though the Mizells did much to move fusion forward in the first half of the 70s, they moved on to have their biggest success producing Taste of Honey<\/strong> (who\u2019s \u2018Boogie Oogie Oogie\u2019 was the Mizell brothers biggest hit) and LTD.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The brothers retired in the early 80s.<\/p>\n

Fonce Mizell was 68.<\/p>\n

I hope you dig the tunes, and I\u2019ll see you all on Monday.<\/p>\n

Peace<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


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 <\/p>\n

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith Alphonso ‘Fonce’ Mizell and Larry Mizell   Listen\/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Shifting Gears (45 Edit) Listen\/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Los Conquistadores Chocolates (45 Edit)   Greetings all. The end of another week is upon us, and while I am as always up to my substantial ass in alligators, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32,20,11,17,14,55,68,66,49,12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disconot-disco","category-dj-gigs","category-funk","category-funk-45","category-funky16corners","category-funky16cornersviva-internet-radio","category-hammond-grooves","category-instrumental","category-jazz-funk","category-soul","category-soul-jazz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-qX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1671"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3921,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1671\/revisions\/3921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}