Vibrations

While the individual personalities of many funk and jazz talents were subsumed by disco's commercial onslaught, Roy Ayers used the vibrant dance beats to revitalize his music. A master arranger, Ayers brought all his technical knowledge of jazz and funk to bear on “Domelo (Give It to Me),” “Come Out and Play,” and “Moving, Grooving.” Far from monotonous, these tracks have tremendous dimension and are almost orchestral in their lushness, even though there aren't strings present. Ayers found liberation in club rhythms, but Vibrations also contains some of his best slower songs. Even Stevie Wonder would be hard-pressed to deliver something as atmospherically seductive as “Baby I Need Your Love,” “Better Days,” “Searching,” or “Vibrations.” Ayers was constantly in search of golden tonalities and sumptuous ambiance, but Vibrations proved he could always back up his aesthetic sensibility with genuine musical intensity.