Roy Ayers

I’ll start by saying if you want to know all the albums Roy Ayers has released; you can look them up yourself. Check Wikipedia, they’ve got a pretty comprehensive list, so does Discogs.com. I’m not even going to list all the albums that I have. Roy Ayers is a jazz musician best known for playing the vibraphone. In fact, I didn't even know what a vibraphone was before Roy. I just thought he was playing a xylophone (which as a child I pronounce "X Y-lophone"). I came to know Roy Ayers by being Black, and having Black parents. It’s true. If you’re Black and your parents were born in the 50’s or 60’s you have to know Roy Ayers. The first song I can remember knowing is “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” the title track off the album of the same name. I knew and loved that song before I even knew who composed it. “My life, my life, my life, my life in the sunshine,” I swear, this is one of those songs that completely embodies a bright summer day. The next song I can remember resonating with me was “We Live in Brooklyn Baby” from the album He’s Coming. The strings on that song are like a tuning fork for your soul. The soundtrack to the movie Coffy starring Pam Grier was composed by him. Like I said, there’s just too much to name. You should be listening to Roy Ayers.