Roy Ayers - Virgin Ubiquity
 

Someone once said that Roy Ayers was the second most influential black musician behind James Brown.There may be some disagreement on that, but you cannot get away from the fact that the guy is undoubtedly a musical legend. 

This latest album from the master of soulful vibes is in fact a collection of unreleased recordings from 1976 through 1981.

The fact that they sound so fresh is not just down to production wizardry but more importantly the talent of a genius that was given his first vibraphone by Lionel Hampton. 

Check the Africa 70 version of ‘Searching Full ‘for real quality music that transcends compartmentisation of genre. Ayers sometimes gets criticised for his lacklustre lyrics,check the consciousness of ‘Green and Gold ‘and you know that the man likes the rythmn first but can make you ponder when he wants too as well. 

This album is perfect for the winter blues as it sounds like one massive studio jam. Definitely a milestone release with the promise of more to come.Now what was that about being the second most influential……………