How Discussing the Call/Response in Jaki Shelton Green’s “The Messengers” Is Inspiring and Producing New Volumes of Poetry in Our Oral Tradition
“Dr.” Don Mizell has been at the game of life for awhile – and he’s played it at a high level, with that black man je ne se qois, that cool swagger. Everywhere he’s went, he’s laid tracks and put up big signs. His name may not be automatically known, but his work is. He graduated Harvard Law School in 1975 and while practicing intellectual property law, developed the successful marketing strategy for the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. In fact, he was the author of Stevie Wonder’s speech launching the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. In 1977 and 1978 he coined the term “Jazz Fusion” and then made a record label from the music art form. From 1980 to 2002, he worked in the music industry as producer and artist management, helping to shape the American sound at the end of the 20th century with jazz, reggae and soul artists as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Morris Day, the Braxton Brothers, Kevin Toney and DeBarge.