Roy. He was a hero to me, and the fact that I could call him a dear friend is something I never took lightly.
My band would often follow Roy’s into Ronnie Scott’s after his two-week residency. I’d always try to get to London early enough to catch his last night. His band was always killing, and I loved watching the audience respond to Roy with their beaming smiles and swaying bodies. His music had a big embrace. It made people feel good.
When I was a young teenager, his album “Red Black And Green” provided the soundtrack for some hot Summer days and humid nights, when we would dance until the sun came up. And when I got a little older and became serious about playing Jazz, I took Roy with me, getting inspiration from albums such as “The Jack Wilson Quartet Featuring Roy Ayers” and “Virgo Vibes.”
Make no mistake – he was a total badass on the vibes. We’re talkin’ a “Shootout At The OK Corral” gunslinging badass. Those albums confirm that fact. Roy would probably say, “Hey, ain’t no thing … but y’know, MAKE it a thing.”
Giants are leaving us, and we can only say their names in gratitude as they pass. Thank you, Roy.
Roy Edward Ayers Jr. Born Los Angeles, 10 September 1940. Died New York, 4 March 2025
