Lorenzo Russell "Larry" Dunn was born June 19, 1953, and joined Earth, Wind & Fire as an original member, staying with the band for eleven years until his 1983 departure. As keyboardist, and later musical director, he set the group's harmonic and structural standards during its commercial peak in the mid-1970s, serving as keyboardist, co-producer, and arranger on the blockbuster album That's the Way of the World (1975). As a songwriter, he contributed "Shining Star," "Spirit," and "Jupiter" to the band's catalog.

After leaving EWF, Dunn joined founder Maurice White's record label, Kalimba Productions, signing new artists including the Emotions and Deniece Williams. He also built a substantial career as a producer, working on albums for the Emotions, Lenny White, Ramsey Lewis, Level 42, and Stanley Turrentine; both Lewis's and Turrentine's own careers are covered in full in Ramsey Lewis's JazzProfiles.com profile and Stanley Turrentine's. He released his own solo album in 1992, and in recent years has led the Larry Dunn Orchestra, releasing two records that feature the songwriting and production talents of his wife, Luisa.

Dunn was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame as a former Earth, Wind & Fire member, and has won 7 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dunn's keyboard work and arranging judgment, forged inside Earth, Wind & Fire's commercial peak, translated directly into a second career producing established jazz artists, a rare case of a funk/R&B keyboardist becoming a trusted producer for straight-ahead jazz veterans.