Ayers strikes cool vibes at TPAC

Acclaimed bandleader, vibist and keyboardist Roy Ayers' albums have been sampled by a host of rap and urban artists, among them Mos Def, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest and Jill Scott. He's enjoyed critical praise as a soloist with Herbie Mann and scored multiple hits heading Ubiquity and several other ensembles. But Ayers hasn't been in the spotlight for several years, although his popularity remains high throughout Europe and Japan.
Getting there
Roy Ayers appears Friday at TPAC's War Memorial Auditorium, 7th & Charlotte Avenue, beginning at 8 p.m, with opening act Joe Johnson. Tickets are $25 and $35.

But things may be changing shortly for Ayers. A new album Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 (BBE) has just been released worldwide, and he's beginning a new tour with a sextet featuring two vocalists, a bassist and drummer that's making a Nashville stop Friday. Virgin Ubiquity not only showcases Ayers' formidable talents as a vibist and keyboard artist, but also displays his versatility. There are funk, soul and urban pieces as well as a couple of jazz-flavored instrumentals. The eclectic set reflects Ayers' background and career. His dazzling, elastic lines and blues flair registered with critics and audiences during his days with saxophonist Curtis Amy and flutist Herbie Mann.

Mann always said the group that included Ayers, guitarists Sonny Sharrock and Larry Coryell, bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Bruno Carr was his best. Such Mann albums as Memphis Underground and Live At The Whiskey A-Go Go were crossover sensations in an era when jazz albums weren't even being marketed to pop audiences.

Then Ayers moved in a different direction, forming Ubiquity in 1970 and shifting to a funk and soul mode with jazz underpinnings. These albums are still treasured today, while such hits as "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" (Ayers' personal favorite), "Change Up The Groove," "Red Black & Green," and "The Black Five" influenced countless artists across the spectrum. He later collaborated with Afrobeat king Fela Kuti on Africa, The Center Of The World, one of the early hits on the then-emerging world music scene. Though he has continued steadily working at both jazz and soul clubs, Ayers feels that his latest endeavor offers a fresh direction for musicians being ignored by contemporary radio.

"The guy who owns BBE is a disc jockey, and he'd been playing a lot of my old records at clubs and getting great response," he said. "When he found out I had plenty of unreleased material he asked to hear some of it. He was so excited he said we had to release this.

"He's got connections all over the world, and was able to coordinate a simultaneous release everywhere. The radio stations aren't playing my music anymore, or that of Lonnie Liston Smith or Cameo, but there's still plenty of interest in it. We're going to be putting out a lot of great music down the line, and people are going to be really surprised at how good it is. I hope other musicians take this route and get their work out, because there's an audience out there for it."