Roy Ayers: Virgin Ubiquity (2LP) [BBE MUSIC]

Why you'll love it

This BBE 2LP set is pressed on 180g vinyl in a gatefold jacket. These are songs Ayers recorded through his own production company alongside his Polydor albums, with Merry Clayton, Jimmy Cobb and Bernard Purdie among the players.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket

About the album

Every great vault has a story, and this one starts with a hit. After a Marley Marl remake of an Ayers tune did good business for London's BBE label, Roy Ayers gave label boss Peter Adarkwah unlimited access to his tape vault. Inside were songs Ayers had cut between 1976 and 1981 through his own production company, at the same time as his Polydor records, and BBE put this first selection out in 2004, with a few fresh overdubs from the man himself.

It's the Ubiquity sound at full tilt, the R&B, disco and jazz-funk blend of the band's biggest records. "Boogie Down" does exactly what it says, "Green and Gold" glides, "Sugar" and "Mystery of Love" are smooth late-night soul, and "Mystic Voyage (Version)" features Carla Vaughan. "I Really Love You," "What's the T?" and "I Am Your Mind" round out a set that plays like a lost Ubiquity album rather than a vault clear-out.

Ayers said he gave Polydor what he thought was best at the time. On this evidence, it must have been a very good few years.

Also at Kops: more Roy Ayers on vinyl · browse Modern Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On BBE (cat# BBE535ALP), a reissue of the 2004 compilation.