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The Roy Ayers Quartet Celebrates Lionel Hampton, January 23-28 at Dizzy's |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Tuesday, 16 January 2007 |
Vibraphoist Roy Ayers and his quartet will be paying tribute to
vibraphone pioneer Lionel Hampton at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln
Center in January 23rd through the 28th.
Roy Ayers was five years old when his parents took him to hear the
legendary vibes player Lionel Hampton in concert. After the performance
'Hamp strolled up and down the aisles thanking his audience for
attending, and in the corner of his eye spotted a very excited little
boy. Lionel wandered over to Roy and gave him the present of a lifetime
- a pair of vibe mallets. Eventually his parents bought him a set of
vibes at 17. Roy began teaching himself, and then he heard that living
just a couple of blocks away was an up-and-coming vibesman Bobby
Hutcherson. The two immediately became friends.
By the age of 21, in 1961 Roy Ayers had become a professional musician
and worked for some of the biggest artists of the day including Chico
Hamilton, Teddy Edwards, Jack Wilson, Phineas Newborn and Gerald
Wilson. Roy began writing his own material and putting it onto tape,
when along came the World's leading author and producer Leonard
Feather. One thing led to another, and Roy was signed to his first
record label - United Artists.Roy's debut album,"West Coast Vibes", was
produced by Leonard, and the line-up was pretty impressive - Roy on
vibes; Curtis Amy, tenor sax; Jack Wilson, piano, Bill Plummer, bass;
Victor Gaskin, bass; and Kenny Dennis plus Tony Bazley on drums. The
album was given much praise within jazz circles, and in fact popular
big band leader Louie Bellson heard one of the tracks, liked it, re-
recorded it, and re-named it "I Remember Duke".
One day the World's number one jazz flautist, Herbie Mann, called Roy
urgently requiring a replacement to fill a last minute cancellation
from a band member, at The Lighthouse Club in Los Angeles. Roy made
himself available, the crowd loved it, and he remained in the band for
six years touring the West Coast and appearing on several of Mann's
albums for Atlantic Records. During this period Roy still found time to
write his own material, and eventually struck a another deal for
himself with Atlantic. For the next three years the same amount of
albums were released - "Virgo Vibes", 1967; "Stoned Soul Picnic", 1968,
and "Daddy Bug" in 1969. All were produced with the help of long time
friend, Harry Whitaker.
In the mid 1970's, a new and different kind of sound was
brewing called fusion.. Roy's mix of fluent improvisation, dance
floor friendly rhythms, and incredible showmanship quickly established
Roy as a leader of the scene, and for the next ten years he recorded
his best work, including: "Virgo Red", "Change Up The Groove", "Mystic
Voyage", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", "Vibrations", "You Send Me",
"Lifeline", and "Fever". At the tail end of 1979 he visited
Africa, and was accompanied by the now late great percussionist, and
beleagured figure-head, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The tour was a huge
success which spawned a popular album "Africa Centre Of The World".
In 1983 Roy formed his own label Uno Melodic and released "Lots Of
Love". Many of the artists featured within his camp later became top
artists in their own right, including Bobbi Humphrey and Justo Almario.
Roy was also synonymous in producing some now much sought after rare
groove classics from The Eighties Ladies, Ethel Beatty, and Sylvia
Striplin.
With the emerging worldwide Acid Jazz movement and sample-happy hip hop
DJ's Roy Ayers enjoyed a worldwide renaissance in the early 90's.
Dozens of groups began sampling his work including, A Tribe Called
Quest, Brand Nubian, X-Clan, Big Daddy Kane, Erykah Badu, Mary J.
Blige, The Notorious BIG, and Puff Daddy. The U.K. based Galliano
recorded with him, Gang Starr's Guru recorded and toured with him on
1993's Jazzmatazz project, and pop diva Vanessa Williams featured him
as a special quest on 1994's "The Sweetest Days".
Catch the Roy Ayers Quartet Celebrating Lionel Hampton at Dizzy's
Tuesday-Sunday, January 23-28 -7:30 & 9:30pm, Friday and Saturday -
11:30pm show. For more details, visit:
www.jalc.org/dccc/
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 Thursday, 21 August 2008
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