WCLK's Jamal Ahmad Pens Letter To The "Uncle" Roy Ayers
If I were ever asked what one musician defines my musical ethos and mission, I would loudly proclaim, without hesitation and with every fiber of my being, South Central Los Angeles' own, Uncle Roy Ayers. Because he was genuinely so many things at one time. He was a walking fusion. What's so genius about Roy Ayers is I became a fan of his early in my life and yet I had no clue who he was.
Like many of my Gen X peers, I discovered his music through hip-hop samples. I'll never forget the day I was in my bedroom playing the New Rochelle group Brand Nubians' newly released single "Wake Up" and my father knocked on my door. He asked me who I was playing on my box. After I told him he said, yeah but that's Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves The Sunshine". Not knowing who he was, I immediately rode Marta to Wax N Facts and bought the cassette of that legendary album. I was never the same and hearing that song for the first time, which was a truly cathartic moment. And by chance, later that year, which was my junior year in high school, I attended a party featuring legendary DJ Clark Kent and they were giving away tapes at the door. I grabbed a soundtrack called Young Soul Rebels, that featured loads of rare groove and featured his hit single "Running Away". Goodness gracious. I danced so hard in my bedroom the first time I played that song.
A few years later, I was listening to the Thursday night hip-hop show on Georgia Tech's radio station and I won tickets to see him live at Center Stage. I was 19 years old and I took my first girlfriend and it was the first concert I ever attended with a date. He kicked off the show with "Mystic Voyage" and for the next hour and a half, I was in a musical trance. My girlfriend was looking at me like I was crazy because she never saw me react to music the way I did that evening lol.
When I started my radio show at WCLK that same year, he was so heavy in my playlists, the program director actually had to limit me from playing so much of his music lol. And then, through an introduction by my radio mentor Ken Batie, I met my musical hero. They say never meet your heroes, but that didn't apply to Uncle Roy(which is what Ken called him). I saw Roy Ayers do some of the most beautiful things for his fellow humans and quite frankly things I've never seen anyone of his stature do. I remember once after he performed for Ken's birthday party at the Apache Cafe and I was chauffeuring him to the airport with Ken. As we drop him off, he tells Ken with this frustration in his voice, "man take this" and slaps all this money in Ken's hand. Then he let out this sly grin and winked at me. He had given Ken back the money Ken paid him for his performance and said "happy birthday brotha".
Over time, Roy and I became closer with every encounter and I've lost count how many times I've been blessed to interview him and host his shows. Every encounter was soulful and warm and he never changed. When I told him my band The Dangerfeel Newbies was going to cover his song "Love From The Sun" featuring his former vocalist Kathleen J. Bertrand, he gave us the ultimate blessing and said "oh Kathleen is going to make that right". Then when he heard it, he said "y'all turned that song into a hit"! When I asked him to take part in the film I co-directed with Jason Orr of FunkJazz Kafé entitled "Stepping Into Tomorrow"(the final photo in this slide is from the film), he didn't hesitate a bit and blessed us with amazing energy and stories. We're just thankful we were able to honor him and many of his peers.
It goes without saying that Roy Ayers is a jazz legend. But just saying that would minimize his importance. He was one of the great pillars of modern music and the last jazz musicians from his era that drew just as many younger fans to his concerts as he did older fans. Last time he came to Atlanta, I saw so many Tik Tok videos of millennials getting ready for his show. That means something. Roy Ayers' legacy has reached into so many generations that my twelve year old daughter asked me recently if I had ever heard of him. That's so unbelievably cool. He's been sampled by so many legends in hip hop and his list of collaborations features folks as diverse as Rick James, Whitney Houston, Tyler The Creator, The Roots, Masters At Work and many more. His "vibration" literally created a whole new genre and Erykah Badu knighted him "Godfather Of Neo Soul".
All we can do now is thank God for his being and blessing us with him for so many years. Roy Ayers will always be remembered as a master of good vibrations and the world is a much better place after he taught us all how to get on down in the sunshine. I will continue to remind the world of your greatness sir and I will honor you every chance I get. I love you Uncle Roy and may God be pleased with you and your amazing spirit.
~ Jamal Ahmad
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