Skip to main contentFormed: 1976 in Cleveland
Members: Jerry Bell, Raymond Calhoun, Bobby Harris, Kevin Kendrick, Marlon McClain
Latest release: Time Traveler (2001), a surprisingly era-appropriate collection of low-key jams that combine modern R&B flavor with Dazz's marquee throwback funk.
Why you care: Though the Dazz Band went through a handful of personnel changes in the '80s (one of which brought Portland funk legend Marlon McClain into the fold), it continues to be a source of sonic inspiration that touches modern R&B, funk and hip-hop. Best known for the oft-licensed single "Let It Whip," Dazz Band's catalog is packed with dance-floor killers that perfectly distill both the pioneering spirit and cheesy technology of the '80s. With Kanye West rocking a rat tail and Chromeo basically copying the Dazz blueprint, this seems about the perfect way to enter a new decade. Hopefully, the band is still rocking a few instruments from its early-'80s heyday, since the biggest mistake old-school funk groups make is to attempt a full-on update.
Sounds like: A soundtrack for snorting lines on a spaceship bound for Planet Funk.
For fans of: Chromeo, Parliament Funkadelic, Zapp & Roger, Snoop Dogg
The Dazz Band plays Thursday, Dec. 31, at the Crystal Ballroom, with Sugarfoot's Ohio Players, Barkays, Slave, Liv Warfield, and Linda Hornbuckle. 10 pm. $45. 25+ (we don't get it either).
WWeek 2015