  |
|
|
 |
| Essential Vibes |
| Roy Ayers |
| első megjelenés éve: 2008 |
|
| (2008)
|
|
CD |
| 2.876 Ft
|
|
| 1. | Everybody
|
| 2. | Bad Baby
|
| 3. | Running Away
|
| 4. | And Then We Were One
|
| 5. | Black Family
|
| 6. | E Funk
|
| 7. | Crack Is In The Mirror (Wake Up)
|
| 8. | Everybody Loves The Sunshine
|
| 9. | Unity
|
| 10. | Drive
|
| 11. | Fast Money
|
| 12. | Mystic Vibrations
|
| 13. | The Minister
|
Jazz
If you electro-funked in the 1980's, jazz-funked in the 1970's, acid jazzed in the 1990's or Jazzmatazzed your Nuyorican Soul more recently, then this collection of classics and rarities from Roy Ayers' Uno Melodic label is for you. He's got the vibes like nobody else...
If it hadn't been for Roy Ayers, the vibraphone would have been reduced to going "bong" on the first beat of every bar in soul music. The efforts of Philly maestro Vince Montana notwithstanding, Roy almost single-handedly dragged (literally - ever felt the weight of one of those things?) the vibes from jazzy obscurity to groove machine. And even in jazz, despite the brilliant work of Bobby Hutcherson, the vibes were effectively a non-starter as a bandleading instrument by the time Roy Ayers had hit his peak.
Roy's career spiralled upwards from West Coast jazz club musician in the early 1960s to funking superstar at the end of the 1970s - one of the few artists who, if you had one of his Polydor LPs under your arm, the jazz-funk fraternity knew for certain that you were on the side of the angels. But not content with
ploughing a familiar groove, Roy continued to push his music forward - not into ever-more obscure or technical areas, but in search of a unification of the black family's beats. To this end, he formed his own label, Uno Melodic, in 1982, achieving considerable commercial and artistic success, adding electro and African beats to his already broadly-influenced, but highly-fused funk style. Predictably, nothing he did lost the essential Roy Ayersness of his groove. This wasn't experimentation, it was the pursuit of rhythmic unification. Uno Melodic. One music.
This compilation brings together the best of Roy's own recordings for Uno Melodic. If some of the early-1980s production values sound shockingly brittle today, the grooves remain grooves, the beats are sexily funky and Roy's own unique musical vision. There's also some fantastic, relaxed playing, the likes of which you wouldn't normally hear outside of a private late-night jam.
Vibes? Roy Ayers never forgets to bring them.
Roy was born Roy Edward Ayers Jr in September, 1940 in Los Angeles, with music all around him. His mum taught him the piano, his dad played the trombone, and at the precocious age of five, he was taken to see jazz vibes showman Lionel Hampton, who gave him a set of vibes mallets. At 17 he decided to put them to use, and by his 20s was making inroads into the cool west coast modern jazz scene, recording under the leadership of Curtis Amy in 1962. His learning curve steepened through regular gigs with Jack Wilson, the Gerald Wilson Orchestra and Teddy Edwards. His debut album as a leader, West Coast Vibes, was released in 1964.
Roy joined flautist Herbie Mann in 1966, which broadened his musical outlook. This relentless seeker of fresh grooves gave Ayers his first taste of a hit when he played on Mann's "Memphis Underground" LP in 1968. Mann also produced three solo albums for Roy, one of which, the same year's "Stoned Soul Picnic", first revealed his taste for what was not really jazz material.
In 1970 Roy left his mentor and formed Roy Ayers Ubiquity, signing a deal with Polydor. A string of albums, starting with "Ubiquity" in 1970, through "He's Coming" (1971), "Red, Black And Green" (1973), "Virgo Red" (1974) and "Mystic Voyage" revealed a fascination with mysticism, some slightly strange lyrics and some truly stunning grooves. He may not have been a great singer, but he was effective and not afraid of putting across a message.
Dropping the Ubiquity tag and scoring with floorfillers like the massive underground hit "Running Away" (1977), "You Send Me" (1978) and "Love Will Bring Us Back Together" (1979), Roy was a running away success. And his fascination with his roots saw the release of the album "Africa, Center Of The World" with Fela Kuti in 1981.
In 1982 Roy launched his own label, Uno Melodic, releasing not only his own electro-influenced "Lots Of Love" album plus two mini-LPs for the UK market, from which many of the tracks on this collection are drawn, but also great material from Bobbi Humphrey, Sylvia Striplin, Eighties Ladies and Justo Almario.
Signing to Columbia in 1984, Roy had an unlikely if amusing club hit with the risque "Poo Poo La La" and found a considerable following on several UK visits. Three albums for the label found him perfectly comfortable with the buzzing beats of 1980s funk.
Roy remains one of jazz-funk's godfathers to this day, appearing with Guru's Jazzmatazz, finding himself sampled on A Tribe Called Quest's debut 45, recording on the NuYorican Soul project and every bit as happy onstage in the more purist jazz atmosphere of Ronnie Scott's club. His career path has been unique
-- and long may he walk it... |
|
CD bolt, zenei DVD, SACD, BLU-RAY lemez vásárlás és rendelés - Klasszikus zenei CD-k és DVD-különlegességek |  | | Webdesign - Forfour Design |
|
|
