From 1972 to 1981, producers Larry and Alfonso “Fonce” Mizell helped create some of the most popular and recognizable recordings in jazz history.

These included Donald Byrd's "Black Byrd," "Stepping Into Tomorrow" and "Places and Spaces;" Bobbi Humphrey's "Blacks and Blues" and "Fancy Dancer;" Johnny Hammond's "Gears;" Gary Bartz's "Music Is My Sanctuary," and many more. But as prolific as they were, the Mizells' instantly recognizable sound was aggressively criticized at the time by critics who railed against their groundbreaking but decidedly unconventional combination of jazz and R&B.

Still, their legacy would ultimately prove as commercial ("Black Byrd" remains one of Blue Note Records' best-selling records of all time) as it did inspirational. More than 300 songs sample their work from the intervening decades, including Stetsasonic's "Talkin' All That Jazz," DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince's "A Touch of Jazz" and "Brand New Funk," A Tribe Called Quest's "Footprints" and "Butter," Ice-T's "New Jack Hustler," Brand Nubian's "Love Me or Leave Me Alone," Nas' "NY State of Mind," and Pete Rock & CL Smooth's "All the Places."

It’s the latter cultural footprint that has drawn younger generations back to the musical steps that came before them, and now to an event honoring the somehow still-underappreciated duo. In commemoration of Larry Mizell’s 80th birthday in 2024 (Fonce passed away in 2011), record label and live music company Jazz Is Dead has assembled former collaborators Gary Bartz and members of The Blackbyrds, along with contemporary artists Katalyst and Melanie Charles, for an Aug. 28 concert at Los Angeles’ Ford Theatre that promoter Dru Lojero describes as a “mixtape” that will be “pure flames.” In advance of the show, which promises performances of tracks produced by the Mizells from Bartz, Byrd, Humphreys and more, Larry spoke at length with Variety about his and Fonce’s dense discography, their unconventional working methods and much more.