Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
Changing of the Guard at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Ayers began to play the vibraphone at age 5 after seeing a performance by Lionel Hampton, who gave him a pair of vibraphone mallets.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)Vibraphonist and composer Roy Ayers, whose soul-driven, electrified approach influenced generations of R&B-adjacent musicians, died March 4 at his home in Manhattan after a long illness. He was 84.
His commercially successful career saw the release of more than 40 albums, and he collaborated with globally celebrated artists such as Wayne Henderson, Rick James, the Roots, George Benson and Fela Kuti, as well as the “neo-soul”-influenced producer Adrien Younge.
Roy Edward Ayers Jr. was born on Sept. 10, 1940, in Los Angeles to a musical family. He began to play the vibraphone at age 5 after seeing a live performance by Lionel Hampton, who bestowed a pair of vibraphone mallets upon the youngster. While in his early 20s, he began playing and recording with L.A.-based saxophonists Curtis Amy and Vi Redd. Ayers’ debut album, West Coast Vibes (United Artists), was released in 1963. He went on to gain national exposure starting in 1966, when he joined flutist Herbie Mann’s band. Mann, famous for the strong groove element inherent in his music, helped the young vibraphonist land recording contracts and served as a producer on albums released under his own name in the late 1960s.
The band Roy Ayers Ubiquity, which brought him to the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, was considered highly influential in the then-burgeoning jazz-funk realm. Ayers’ 1976 hit “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” is the most recognized title in his acclaimed oeuvre of original songs, which have been sampled hundreds of times by hip-hop and R&B musicians. Other memorable tunes by Ayers include “Coffey Is The Color” (from the 1973 Pam Grier film Coffey), “Love,” “Running Away,” “Love Will Bring Us Back Together” and “We Live In Brooklyn, Baby.”
He is survived by his wife, Argerie, and their children, Mtume and Ayana Ayers. DB
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Larry Appelbaum with Wayne Shorter in 2012.
Feb 25, 2025 10:49 AM
Larry Appelbaum, a distinguished audio engineer, jazz journalist, historian and broadcaster, died Feb. 21, 2025, in…
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“You’ve got to trust that inner child, keep exploring, even though people think it’s wrong,” says Fortner.
Feb 25, 2025 11:20 AM
Every week at the Village Vanguard fosters its own sound. No one really knows how the music might evolve by Sunday, but…
