For those of you who think vibes means 'music for shoppers', I can advise www.maceys.com for some really cool sound files like 'elevatorB.ra' and 'toycorner.wav', you'll be delighted.

But for those of you who want to leave the vaults of cool jazz to plunge their hearing in the most sophisticated funk music ever, please your filthy minds with some of the finest tunes that taste like pink honey : those of Mr. Rare Groove himself, Roy Ayers.

Always ready for some thriving solo, or jelling some spicy stories about his ex-wife, pushing his band to its sweating limits or live the atmosphere to its fullest, the RAEFFSG (Roy Ayers Excellent Feel For Superb Grooves) never ever lets you down.

After being inspired by his idol Lionel Hampton, he started out in the '60s alongside musicians like Curtis Amy and Herbie Mann. His talent was soon recognized and he released some fine LP's under the Atlantic label (the now very rare 'Virgo Vibes' for example), but it wasn't until he formed the band 'Ubiquity' in 1970 that the man used his talent for nastiness to the maximum. Composing, playing and singing on many, now classic, albums : 'Mystic Voyage' (with the monster track 'The Black Five'), 'Change Up The Groove' (interpreting 'Mash Theme' a la facon Ayers), 'Ubiquity' (an album that starts at $100, if you can find it, that is), 'Starbooty' (luv the cover) and many more, he even made his entrance in the charts with 'Running Away' and -perhaps his most famous track- 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine'. Everybody on the scene loved Roy Ayers.

Improving his playing technique to the maximum, his music never bored, always fusing the well-overthought jazz concepts with a knack for partying. That's what we like around here.
And, okay : Roy might have never stopped searching for more creativity during recording or live performing - his lyrics were, well, cheesy : 'Doo-bee-doo, run-run-run' or 'I want to kiss you on your Poo Poo La La', let alone the imitation of a bunch of wild chimps on 'Freaky Deaky - Fonky Donkey'. Just don't take it too serious, people.

The eighties meant a departure from the rare groove scene to some more polished sounds. Nevertheless, he made no compromises concerning the quality of the composition, the production and the performing. The 1984 album 'In The Dark' is another classic, so is the 1981 'Africa, Center of the World' with Jazzfunk Dude from Africa Fela Kuti on which Latin and African rythms were coming into the picture. Today, Roy lays down his funk spirit in the form of deep house records, for example : the recent release with Scott Grooves on which Lonnie Liston Smith's classic 'Expansions' is reconstructed, or his deep-house version of 'Sweet Tears' he made for Louie Vega. He can still be admired, worshiped or just plainly enjoyed at London's hottest jazz club Ronnie Scotts.

You see, the word quitting just doesn't fit his vocabulary. There was never a comeback, he was always there : on stage, in the record shops, on the scene, kicking the funk from Day One to Eternity. Roy Ayers is a living legend, not a living fossile. So the proof is finally here : God is Black.

And I sure as hell would like to kiss Him on His Poo Poo La La...

(text by outspan '99)
(pics by say vegin)