[acid-jazz] CD Review: Roy Ayres Ubiquity- Red, Black & Green

From: Bob Davis (earthjuice_at_prodigy.net)
Date: 2004-11-19 02:12:25

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    http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers
    <a href=" http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers "> HIP-O Select reissue on
    CD of the Roy Ayres - Red, Black & Green </a>

    I was supposed to write about the CD last week, but I haven't because I wanted to take the
    time to listen to it at least 3 times in different settings. In fact I'm listening to it again
    right now. Yesterday I listened to it in the car during my daily commute.

    Of course I remember when the album first came out and have actually heard the songs from it
    many times before, so the music itself is hardly a revelation. However the context when I
    first heard this music was quite different in 1973, than it is today, so it was interesting
    for me to understand those differences.

    For me Roy Ayres was an artist who was one of the ones who truly introduced me to jazz. Of
    course I had heard jazz in my home while growing up, but that was different. It was different
    because it was forced down my throat by my parents....lol

    Artists like Roy Ayres, Miles Davis & Donald Byrd were the ones who truly introduced me to
    jazz. Their music of the early to mid 70's as specifically marketed to young Black teenagers.
    For example, the album cover of "Red, Black & Green" was distinctive in that it used the
    colors of the "Black Liberation Flag" to send a not too subliminal message to us that Roy just
    might be "militant", which of course me and my peers ate up....lol

    (Donald Byrd's LP called "Black Byrd" around the same time, used a similar technique)

    http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers
    <a href=" http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers "> HIP-O Select reissue on
    CD of the Roy Ayres Ubiquity - Red, Black & Green </a>

    Nice thing about this re-issue of the album from our friends at HIP-O Select is that (as with
    the rest of their stuff) they use the ORIGINAL LP cover, liner notes, LP cardboard, etc.

    So naturally it made me feel a tinge of nostalgia looking at it.

    Listening to it now, despite whatever I may have thought when I was a teenager, the music is
    hardly "militant" at all.
    In fact if there is a message at all in the music of Roy Ayres - Red, Black & Green it can be
    captured in just a single phrase...

    "MONSTER GROOVE"

    However if you wanna get a taste of that "MONSTER GROOVE", u betta hurry up and get it NOW,
    cuz I'm told that there only 5,000 of these CD's that are going to be available!

    http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers
    <a href=" http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers "> HIP-O Select reissue on
    CD of the Roy Ayres Ubiquity - Red, Black & Green </a>

    This is a CD filled with some truly great Jazz instrumental covers of then current soul music
    hits like "Ain't No Sunshine", "Day Dreaming" and "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", with Roy Ayres
    "smokin" on vibes. Of course the original title cut called "Red, Black & Green", is a
    seriously consciousness raising cut that today seems harmless. However back in the day my
    friends and I could be heard humming/mumming those words all of the time, right in tune with
    the marketing strategy of Polydor records.....lol

    This is not to suggest that Roy Ayres was being disinguious.
    I have no doubt that the whole "Red, Black & Green" concept was something that was quite close
    to him and he had to fight for it with the record company. However I also think that he
    probably sold them on the idea based on that concept being able to reach the eyes and ears of
    people (like me for example) who weren't accustomed to buying jazz albums.

    (and guess what, it worked....lol)

    This is the type of CD that you just put on and leave on.
    The MONSTER GROOVE is there on every song and is so hypnotic that you will want to eventually
    just put it on the "repeat" function of your CD player, so you won't have to worry about
    getting up to play it again.

    Roy Ayres Ubiquity - Red, Black & Green
    Track Listing

    1. Ain't No Sunshine
    2. Henceforth
    3. Day Dreaming
    4. Red Black & Green
    5. Cocoa Butter
    6. Rhythms Of Your Mind
    7. Papa Was A Rolling Stone

    http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers
    <a href=" http://www.davisind.com/redirect/?d=newsletter_royayers "> HIP-O Select reissue on
    CD of the Roy Ayres Ubiquity - Red, Black & Green </a>

     _________
    Bob Davis
    earthjuice_at_prodigy.net

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