Everybody loves the sunshine and everybody loves Roy Ayers. Talking about his work and influence on many past and current musicians could take weeks. The vibraphonist recorded a string of classic soul and funk jams like 'Running Away', 'Get Up', or Sylvia Striplin's 'You Can't Turn Me Away' that are evergreens and standards. Ayers might be the second most-sampled artist in hip hop right after James Brown and since he started performing and recording in the 1960s, is still going strong. In this very special Fireside Chat edition, Roy talks about his mentors: the goodwill ambassador of the U.S. Lionel Hampton and keyboardist Jack Wilson, about playing with Sergio Mendes under false names, the drug called crack and the song named 'Chicago'. How all of his really successful songs were improvisations, how sampling works as a money resource and the ever-lasting struggle of a musician with the recording industry.
Since you're already online, why not follow the trail of knowledge to this artist's personal website/s and other related web resources:
Roy Ayers on MySpace