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Dazz Band
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Genre(s)	Funk, R&B
Years active	1977–early 2000s
Label(s)	20th Century, Motown, Geffen, RCA
Website	http://www.skipmartinmusic.com
Members
Bobby Harris sax, clarinet, background vocals Pierre DeMudd trumpet / falsetto vocals Sennie "Skip" Martin lead vocals / trumpet
Former members
Eric Fearman - guitar Kevin Kendrick - keyboards Keith Harrison - keyboards Isaac Wiley, Jr. - drums Michael Wiley - bass Marlon McClain - guitar Kenny Pettus - percussion / vocals Jerry Bell - lead vocals Steve Cox - keyboards Terry Stanton - lead vocals ( rip )

The Dazz Band is a former American funk music band that was most popular in the early 1980s. The name of the band is a portmanteau of the description "danceable jazz". Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include the Grammy Award-winning "Let It Whip" (1982), "Joystick" (1984), and "Let It All Blow" (1984).

The Dazz Band, formed in 1976, grew out of the Cleveland jazz fusion band Bell Telefunk, comprised of Bobby Harris, percussionist Kenny Pettus, drummer Isaac "Ike" Wiley, Jr., and his brother bassist Michael Wiley, and the band Mother Braintree. The group became known as Kinsman Dazz, named after the street and name of the lounge where they worked as the house band: Sonny Jones' Kinsman Grill Lounge. The group changed its name before the song "Dazz" became an R&B hit for Atlanta's Brick in 1976.

Kinsman Dazz was signed to 20th Century Records by Joe Lewis. The group went to Los Angeles to record for producer Marvin Gaye. Owing to illness, Gaye had to back out of the duties. Harris requested and got Philip Bailey, the vocalist of Earth, Wind & Fire, to produce the group's first album, Kinsman Dazz. Bailey would co-produce the second album, Dazz, and had a major input into the group's vocal arrangements.

The Kinsman Dazz became the Dazz Band in 1980. Separately, the 20th Century Records label was closed, and the Dazz Band was signed to Motown Records. The group expanded from the original quartet — Harris, Pettus, and the Wiley brothers — with newcomers Kevin Kendrick, Steve Cox, Eric Fearman, Pierre DeMudd, Sennie "Skip" Martin, Jerry Bell and Terry Stanton.

Dazz's first album for Motown was Invitation to Love (1980), a self-produced set. The group's next album, Let The Music Play (1981), featured the minor hit single "Knock! Knock!", reaching the Top 50. The group's breakthrough came with Keep It Live (1982), containing the hit "Let It Whip" which reached No. 1 on the R&B charts and won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. They would go on to score R&B hits with the songs "Party Right Here" (1983), "Joystick" (1984), and "Let It All Blow" (1984).

After Keep It Live, the band recorded the albums On the One, Joystick, Jukebox and Hot Spot, all for Motown. The band was known for its live performances, often proving more popular than the headlining act. In 1985, Fearman and Frederick left the group and were replaced by Marlon McClain and Keith Harrison. In 1986, Dazz Band recorded Wild & Free for Geffen Records, and moved to RCA Records.

The popularity of classic funk/R&B/soul acts performing in the US and abroad started to expand in the mid-1990s on events like the awarded Sinbad's Summer Jam: '70s Soul Music Festival. Bobby Harris decided to form a tribute band with members from the Bar-Kays, Con Funk Shun, the Gap Band and the SOS Band, called the United We Funk All-Stars. A studio album followed, including a tribute to the late Roger Troutman who performs on the album as well. Other artists from the genre who contributed to the album were the late Rick James and The System. The concept was a great success and captured on a live CD, presented and promoted by radio jockey Tom Joyner, who made the announcements on the UWF-All Stars shows.

• Dazz Band at All Music Guide