Soul Vet Roy Ayers on the Power a Pair of Mallets Possess

Patrick Flanary | Sep 30, 2018 1:02 pm | Add a comment | 2741 reads

“Expect to get down,” Roy Ayers warns with an ecstatic cackle that belies his 78 years of age and five decades of experience in the music biz.

Ahead of his Oct 6 and 7 shows at Blue Note Beijing, soul music’s most famous mallet-man tells the Beijinger he can’t wait to perform his first new material since 2004’s Mahogany Vibe.

“I’m getting ready to do another album,” reveals Ayers over the phone this week from his home in New York. “I’m always trying to make new music. I live the life of loving to write.”

READ: Playlist: Yiling Lin, Gig Coordinator at Blue Note Beijing

Labels have a way of attaching themselves to Ayers. He’s often credited for popularizing acid jazz and for Godfathering the neo-soul wave that shaped turn-of-the-aughts Soulquarian artists like Common, D’Angelo, and Erykah Badu.

Yet these credits say nothing of the scores of readymade samples Ayers has unwittingly created over the decades. A Tribe Called Quest and Mary J. Blige are among those who’ve borrowed his sensual vibraphone hooks. Indeed, it’s possible you first encountered his music subliminally, by way of those jazzy, funky snippets. It’s as much a treat to unpack and trace those Ayers samples as it is to dissect his indispensable collaborations with Fela Kuti, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, and Talib Kweli.

During our conversation, Ayers, who turned 78 on Sep 10, laughed hard and often — especially when we asked how he celebrated his birthday. “I went to have Japanese food,” he said, quickly adding, “But I like Chinese food, too!”

What can people expect from a Roy Ayers performance?
Expect to get down, and get down very funky. Everybody has a good time.

Have you been working on new songs?
I’m getting ready to do another album, another studio thing. I don’t have a title yet, but I’ve got a lot of titles in mind. I’m always trying to make new music.

Are you the kind of guy who likes to revisit their own music?
Yeah, I have my favorites. One of my favorites is “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” [the title track from his classic 1976 LP].

Around the time of that song, you worked with Fela Kuti. How did that meeting happen?
That was wonderful. That was arranged by my attorney who does work in Nigeria. And he said, “Listen, we want to go to Nigeria; you should record with this guy.” We vibed on the music, and the music was great. He came with people from his tribe, about 35 musicians came to the airport. And it was a gas. He was a natural-born leader.

Which other musicians do you admire today?
Well, I still listen to Miles Davis. I love Miles Davis, he’s one of my favorite musicians. He was just a wonderful innovator. Some of the musicians that I’ve played with, like Herbie Hancock, are excellent musicians. And [guitarist] Phil Upchurch, he’s very nice.

Any conversations you remember having with Miles Davis?
I can remember speaking with him. It was the Muhammad Ali fight [Rumble in the Jungle, 1974] with George Foreman. And he said, “George Foreman is gonna knock Ali out!” That’s what he predicted. I said, “Oh no, Ali’s gonna win!” [Ayers was right.]

Who put the first pair of vibe mallets in your hands? Were you self-taught?
The great Lionel Hampton [who died in 2002] taught me. He was a wonderful instructor and a great guy.

Tell me about the power a pair of mallets possesses.
My god, it’s all in the perfection of the mallet-man. Lionel Hampton told me that, that the power of the mallets is in your expression. And it was very, very true.

Any new instrument you’d like to pick up?
I would love to learn how to play the flute. I don’t have the wind that’s required; I’ve tried it before. You have to blow hard. I messed with the flute for a while, but I didn’t stay on it long. So I cooled out. But if I had to play the flute, I’d play the bass flute. My mother taught me how to play piano, but I’m not as good as I am a vibe player.

What is your songwriting discipline?
I write spontaneously. I write because I live the life of loving to write. And I love to write especially in my dreams, you know? I write in my dreams, and I love it because it comes out to be beautiful.

What inspires you to keep writing?
My wife inspires me, a lot. My wife loves for me to write. I write for my wife, for my children. And they’re big kids, 33 and 30 years old.

When did it hit you that music was what you had to do for the rest of your life?
I realized it a long time ago. That’s a good question, matter of fact. First time I’ve been asked that. Wow. Maybe 1960. Nobody asks me that question! That’s the first time I’ve had to answer that, that’s wonderful!

I was living in California. I decided I was going to play with the Herbie Mann Group. He called me up, said, “You want to go to work?” I said, “Of course.” It was a fantastic, revolutionary group... It’s interesting, because I’m older now. I go to clubs, by the way; I like nightclubs. I just socialize. I enjoy it.

What would you like to do that you haven’t gotten around to yet?
I hope I get a chance to go to Egypt. I have been everywhere except Egypt. And I’ve never written a song about Egypt, and it’s unfortunate. But I will write one.