Roy Ayers (USA)
Roy Ayers is one of the most visible and winning jazz vibraphonists. His reputation is now that of one of the prophets of acid jazz, a man decades ahead of his time.
Line Up:
Roy Ayers - vibraphone, vocals
On Stage: 8
Travel party: 10
Biography:
Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a jazz player, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records before his tenure at Polydor Records, during which he progressed a new R&B style, slowly molding the new Disco genre. Growing up in a musical family, Lionel Hampton gave him his first pair of mallets at the age of five, which led to the vibraphone being his trademark sound for decades. The area of Los Angeles that Ayers grew up in, now known as "South Central", but then known as "South Park", was the epicenter of the Southern California Black Music Scene. The schools Roy attended (Wadsworth Elementary, Nevins Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School) were all close to the famed Central Avenue, Los Angeles' equivalent of Harlem's Lenox Avenue and Chicago's State Street. Roy would likely have been exposed to music as it not only emanated from the many nightclubs and bars in the area, but also poured out of many of the homes where the musicians who kept the scene alive lived in and around Central. His high school, Thomas Jefferson High School, from which Ayers graduated, produced some of the most talented new musicians, such as Dexter Gordon. Ayers was responsible for the highly regarded soundtrack to Jack Hill's 1973 blaxploitation film Coffy, which starred Pam Grier. He later moved from a jazz-funk sound to R&B, as seen on Mystic Voyage, which featured the songs "Evolution" and the underground disco hit "Brother Green (The Disco King)", as well as the title track from his 1976 album Everybody Loves the Sunshine. In 1977, Ayers produced an album by the group RAMP, Come Into Knowledge, commonly and mistakenly thought to stand for "Roy Ayers Music Project".[2] That Fall, he had his biggest hit with "Running Away". In 1980, Ayers released Music Of Many Colors with the Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. In 1981, Ayers produced an album with the singer Sylvia Striplin, Give Me Your Love (Uno Melodic Records 1981). In the 1990s, Ayers released several albums for the hip hop label Ichiban Records. In 1994, Ayers appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine. During the 2000s and 2010s, Ayers ventured into house music, collaborating with such stalwarts of the genre as Masters at Work and Kerri Chandler. Ayers has founded two record labels, Uno Melodic and Gold Mink Records. The first released several LPs, including Sylvia Striplin's, while the second folded after a few singles. Ayers as not only an accomplished musician but also a well-known entertainer on the music scene. He often performs with music and comedic speech/storyline interaction to his audience to enhance his appeal. One of his most popular is a track taken from the LP 'In the Dark' released in 1984 called 'Poo Poo La La'. This has now become a standard favourite amongst his audiences. Currently, there is a documentary in progress called the Roy Ayers Project featuring Roy Ayers, as well as many Hip Hop producers who have sampled his music and other people who have been influenced by him and his music. The documentary is planned to be released in early 2012. (adapted from Wikipedia | cc:by-sa)
Discography:
1963 West Coast Vibes - United Artists
1967 Virgo Vibes - Atlantic
1967 Daddy Bug & Friends - Atlantic
1968 Stoned Soul Picnic - Collectables
1969 Daddy's Back - Atco
1971 He's Coming - Polydor
1971 Ubiquity - Polydor
1972 Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival - Polygram
1973 Coffy - Uptown/Univers
1973 Virgo Red - Polydor
1974 Change Up the Groove - Polydor
1975 A Tear to a Smile - Universal
1975 Mystic Voyage - Polygram
1976 Vibrations - Polydor
1976 Red, Black and Green - Polydor
1976 Everybody Loves the Sunshine - Tinted
1977 Lifeline - Polydor
1977 Crystal Reflections - Muse
1978 Let's Do It - Polydor
1978 You Send Me - Polydor
1978 Step into Our Life - Polydor
1979 Fever - Polydor
1980 Love Fantasy - Polydor
1980 No Stranger to Love - Polydor
1980 Prime Time - Polydor
1981 Africa, Center of the World - Polydor
1981 Feelin' Good - Polydor
1983 Drivin' on Up - Uno Melodic
1983 Silver Vibrations - Uno Melodic