Roy Ayers

For the U.S. Representative from Montana, see Roy E. Ayers.

Roy Ayers
Ayers in concert on March 29, 2006 Photo: Werner Nieke
Background information
Birth name	Roy Ayers
Born	September 10, 1940 (1940-09-10) Los Angeles, California United States
Genres	Jazz Jazz-Fusion Funk Acid Jazz Disco Soul jazz R&B House Hip Hop
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Film scorer
Instruments	Vocals Vibraphone Keyboards
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Atlantic Records, Polydor Records, Ichiban Records, Golden Mink
Associated acts	RAMP Roy Ayers Ubiquity Fela Kuti
Website	Roy Ayers' official site

Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .

Biography

Ayers was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in a musical family. At the age of five, Lionel Hampton gave him his first pair of mallets, 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". 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.

Appearances in other media

Roy Ayers' song "Running Away" appears in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack, on the fictitious radio station Bounce FM. Roy Ayers' song "Funk In The Hole" appears in Grand Theft Auto IV video game on the ficitious radio station Fusion FM. He's also the radio host of this station. "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" appears in GTA Vice City Stories soundtrack. Roy Ayers performed a solo on the John "Jellybean" Benitez production of Whitney Houston "Love Will Save The Day" from her second multi-platinum studio album Whitney. The single was released in July 1988 by Arista Records.

Selected discography

• West Coast Vibes (United Artists) – 1963
• Virgo Vibes (Atlantic) – 1967
• Daddy Bug & Friends (Atlantic) – 1967
• Stoned Soul Picnic (32 Jazz) – 1968
• Daddy’s Back (Atco) – 1969
• He’s Coming (Polydor) – 1971
• Ubiquity (Polydor) – 1971
• Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival (Verve) – 1972
• Red, Black And Green (Polydor) – 1973
• Coffy (soundtrack) (Polydor) - 1973
• Virgo Red (Polydor) – 1973
• Change Up The Groove (Polydor) – 1974
• A Tear To A Smile (Polydor) – 1975
• Mystic Voyage (Polydor) – 1975
• Everybody Loves the Sunshine (Polydor) - 1976
• Vibrations (Polydor) – 1976
• Crystal Reflections (Muse) – 1977
• Lifeline (Polydor) – 1977
• Let's Do It (Polydor) – 1978
• Step Into Our Life (Polydor) – 1978
• You Send Me (Polydor) – 1978
• Fever (Polydor) – 1979
• Love Fantasy (Polydor) – 1980
• No Stranger To Love (Polydor) – 1980
• Prime Time (Polydor) – 1980
• Music Of Many Colors (With Fela Kuti) (Celluloid) – 1980
• Africa, Center Of The World (Polydor) – 1981
• Feelin’ Good (Polydor) – 1981
• In The Dark (Columbia) – 1984
• Goree Island – 1984
• In the Dark – 1984
• Poo PooLa La – 1984
• You Might Be Surprised (Columbia) – 1985
• I’m The One (For Your Love Tonight) (Columbia) – 1987
• Searchin’ (Live) (Ronnie Scott's Jazz House) – 1991
• Drive (Ichiban) – 1992
• Wake Up (Ichiban) – 1992
• Double Trouble (With Rick James) (Uno Melodic) – 1992
• Good Vibrations (Live) (Ronnie Scott's Jazz House) – 1993
• Fast Money (Live At Ronnie Scott’s) (Castle) – 1994
• Vibesman (Live At Ronnie Scott’s) (Music Club) – 1995
• Nasté (Groovetown) – 1995
• Hot (Live At Ronnie Scott’s) (Ronnie Scott's Jazz House) – 1996
• Spoken Word (AFI) – 1998
• Lots Of Love (Charly) – 1998
• Juice (Charly) – 1999
• Live At Ronnie Scott’s (DVD Audio) (Castle) – 2001
• "Our Time is Coming" (single with Masters at Work) (MAW Records)—2001
• For Café Après-midi (Universal Japan) – 2002
• "Good Vibrations" (single with Kerri Chandler) (Mad House Records)—2003
• Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 (Rapster) – 2004
• Mahogany Vibe (Rapster) – 2004
• Virgin Ubiquity II: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 (Rapster) – 2005
• Virgin Ubiquity Remixed (Rapster) – 2006
• Perfection (Aim) – 2006

External links

• Official website of Roy Ayers
• Allmusic Guide to Roy Ayers
• Roy Ayers Project site for Documentary in Progress