Roy Ayers to release first studio album in 18 years

Roy Ayers is to release his first studio album in 18 years.

The vibraphone and jazz-funk legend recorded his new album in Los Angeles in 2018, alongside multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Together, Young and Shaheed Muhammad have launched a new live night and label called Jazz Is Dead.

Reflecting on their first full-length album for the label, Ali Shaheed Muhammad reflected, “What is Jazz in 2020? I can answer that this way: jazz artists have not only been an inspiration that has shaped my development as a musician, but their music is deeply rooted into the foundation of the Hip-Hop culture. We have risen because their head nodding beats, lush chord progressions, soul ripping melodies and bellowing basslines have given us a musical back beat to poetically flow on until the break of dawn. To me, it’s all freedom music and Jazz Is Dead is motivating a movement.”

Jazz Is Dead first project, released in March, included appearances from Azymuth, Gary Bartz and Marcos Valle with more music in the pipeline.

Roy Ayers JID002 is released on the 19th of June 2020.