Roy Ayers - Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981

When the Roy Ayers unreleased recordings promo arrived in my postbox, I thought, "Hum, they want me to review this? Looks like a no-brainer to me; JUST BUY IT". And that was before I listened to it. Now having had the CD on constant rotation for the past two months, my opinion remains as it was then, JUST BUY IT. However, I recognise that I have to do a little better than that, and I have to tell you why I think this collection of newly discovered Roy Ayers music is an essential addition to every music collection. So here goes:

Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Drop What You Are Doing, and Go To The Nearest Record Store to Buy Roy Ayers' "Virgin Ubiquity-unreleased recordings 1976-1981”.

10. Roy Ayers is the premier vibraphonist of the late 20th and 21st centuries. His career spans forty years, during which he has maintained consistent popularity across generations, and throughout the world.

9. He has worked with tremendously talented artists including, Harry Whitaker, Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Herbie Mann. This latest CD features the vocal talents of Merry Clayton, Edwin Birdsong, and Carla Vaughn, and the superb musicianship of William Allen, Justo Almario, John Mosley, Harry Whitaker, Chuck Anthony, and Peter Brown.

8. Lionel Hampton, another master of the vibraphone, literally passed a personal torch to Ayers, creating a lineage of impeccable talent, and cultivating an amazing artistic gift. At a Hampton concert Ayers attended when he was five, Hampton gave Ayers his first set vibe mallets.

7. "Searching", "The Third Eye", "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", "Running Away", "We Live in Brooklyn, Baby", "Red, Black, & Green", “Coffy is the Colour”.

6. He is the embodiment of positive, creative energy at its zenith, and at the youthful age of 63, he shows no signs of slowing down.

5. Just think what kind of madness this project could spawn--unreleased gems from: Stevie Wonder “Outervisions”, Earth, Wind, & Fire “October”, The Commodores, “Straw House”, Marvin Gaye, “Before the Dance”. . .

4. Ayers' boundless talent spans a variety of music genres, and his influence continues to flow through modern music. He’s worked contemporary electronic and dance music artists like Nuyorican Soul, Jazzanova, and the 4 Hero/2000 Black crew. In addition, he’s been sampled by countless hip-hop and R-n-B artists, including A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige, Gangstarr, and Notorious B.I.G.

3. Over the past two years, since Ayers revealed to BBE label boss Peter Adarkwah that he had "hundreds" of tapes of unreleased material in storage, Adarkwah has worked with Ayers to put together an exceptional collection of lost gems from Ayers' richest creative period.

2. Roy Ayers is THE reason "acid-jazz", "funk-jazz", "nu-jazz" exist.

1. Look, at this point, if you don't know by now, you'd better ask somebody.