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Roy Ayers

 

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Roy Ayers



 
 
Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
) is a funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music....
, soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 and jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 composer and vibraphone
Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion instrument family....
 player. Ayers began his career as a jazz player, releasing several albums with Arista Records
Arista Records

Arista Records is an United States record label. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operates under the RCA Records....
 before his tenure at Polydor Records
Polydor Records

Polydor Records is a record label currently headquartered in the United Kingdom, and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group....
, during which he progressed a new R&B style, slowly molding the new Disco
Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
 genre.

s grew up in a musical family. At the age of five, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
 gave him his first pair of mallet
Mallet

A Mallet is a type of hammer with a head made of softer materials than the steel normally used in hammerheads, so as to avoid damaging a delicate surface....
s, which led to the vibraphone
Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion instrument family....
 being his trademark
TradeMark

TradeMark is a tall, primarily residential, skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 2007 and has 28 floors. There are 200 hundred residential units....
 sound for decades.






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Encyclopedia


Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
) is a funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music....
, soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 and jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 composer and vibraphone
Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion instrument family....
 player. Ayers began his career as a jazz player, releasing several albums with Arista Records
Arista Records

Arista Records is an United States record label. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operates under the RCA Records....
 before his tenure at Polydor Records
Polydor Records

Polydor Records is a record label currently headquartered in the United Kingdom, and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group....
, during which he progressed a new R&B style, slowly molding the new Disco
Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
 genre.

Biography

Ayers grew up in a musical family. At the age of five, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
 gave him his first pair of mallet
Mallet

A Mallet is a type of hammer with a head made of softer materials than the steel normally used in hammerheads, so as to avoid damaging a delicate surface....
s, which led to the vibraphone
Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion instrument family....
 being his trademark
TradeMark

TradeMark is a tall, primarily residential, skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 2007 and has 28 floors. There are 200 hundred residential units....
 sound for decades. The area of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
 that Ayers grew up in, now known as "South Central
South Los Angeles

South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A., is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California....
", but then known as "South Park
South Park, Los Angeles, California

South Park is a district in central Los Angeles, California, United States, lying in the southwestern portion of Downtown Los Angeles. It is the site of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Staples Center arena and the "L.A....
", was the epicenter of the Southern California
Southern California

Southern California, or So Cal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers on the cities of Los Angeles, California, San Diego, California, San Bernardino, California, and Riverside, California....
 Black Music
Black music

Black music is a term encompassing music produced or inspired by black people. In modern circles, this has come to usually refer to the great many music genres that have developed as a result of African American music....
 Scene. The schools Roy attended (Wadsworth Elementary, Nevins Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School
Thomas Jefferson High School

Thomas Jefferson High School may refer to high schools in the United States:*Thomas Jefferson High School *Thomas Jefferson High School *Thomas Jefferson High School ...
) were all close to the famed Central Avenue
Central Avenue (Los Angeles)

Central Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare in the central portion of the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. Located just to the west of the Alameda Corridor, it runs from the eastern end of the Civic Center, Los Angeles, California south, ending at Del Amo Boulevard in Carson....
, Los Angeles' equivalent of Harlem
Harlem

Harlem is a Neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center....
's Lenox Avenue and Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
's State Street
State Street (Chicago)

State Street is a major north-south thoroughfare in Chicago, Illinois, Illinois, United States. It begins on the Near North Side, Chicago at Illinois Route 64....
. On any given day, Roy would have been likely to be exposed to music as it not only emanated from the many nightclubs and bars in the area, but also poured out of many of the homes where the musicians who kept the scene alive lived in and around Central. Thomas Jefferson High School
Thomas Jefferson High School

Thomas Jefferson High School may refer to high schools in the United States:*Thomas Jefferson High School *Thomas Jefferson High School *Thomas Jefferson High School ...
, from which Ayers graduated, gave to the music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 and jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 worlds some of its brightest stars, such as Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon

Dexter Gordon was an United States jazz tenor saxophonist, and an Academy Award-nominated actor. He is considered one of the first bebop tenor players....
.

Ayers was responsible for the highly regarded soundtrack to Jack Hill
Jack Hill

Jack Hill is an United States film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre.A full biography of his work, in which Hill was closely involved, entitled Jack Hill: The Exploitation and Blaxploitation Master, Film by Film was written by British critic Calum Waddell and will be released in November 2008....
's 1973 blaxploitation
Blaxploitation

Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban black audience; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation." Blaxploitation films starred primarily black actors, and were the first to feature soundtracks of funk an...
 film Coffy
Coffy

Coffy is a 1973 in film blaxploitation film Screenwriter and Film director by American films filmmaker Jack Hill.The story is about a African American female vigilante, played by Pam Grier....
, which starred Pam Grier
Pam Grier

Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She came to fame in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison films and blaxploitation B-movies such as 1974's Foxy Brown ....
. He later moved from a jazz-funk sound to R&B, as seen on Mystic Voyage, which featured the songs Evolution and the underground disco hit Brother Green ( The Disco King ), as well as the title track from his 1976 album Everybody Loves the Sunshine
Everybody Loves the Sunshine

Everybody Loves The Sunshine is a Roy Ayers album, released in 1976. The signature track is featured on popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, playing on VCFL....
.

iN 1976, he had his biggest hit with Running Away.

In 1977 Ayers produced an album by the group RAMP
Ramp

Ramp may refer to:Gravitational:* Inclined plane, a physical structure that is a simple machine* Airport ramp, the area around an airport terminal where aircraft are loaded and unloaded...
, Come Into Knowledge, commonly and mistakenly thought to stand for "Roy Ayers Music Project".

In 1980 Ayers released Music Of Many Colors with the Nigeria
Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federation constitutional republic comprising States of Nigeria and one Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria....
n Afrobeat
Afrobeat

Afrobeat is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, and funk rhythms, fused with Percussion instrument and vocal styles, popularized in Africa in the 1970s....
 pioneer
Pioneer

A pioneer is a soldier employed to perform engineering tasks, originally in France. The word was borrowed into English, from Old French pionnier, which meant a "foot soldier", from the root 'peon' recorded in 1523....
 Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti

Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights Activism, and Politics maverick....
.

In 1981 Ayers produced an album with the singer Sylvia Striplin
Sylvia Striplin

Sylvia Striplin is a New York based jazz and R&B vocalist. Striplin has worked with funk, jazz, and soul, vibraphonist Roy Ayers, who helped her release her 1981 album Give Me Your Love on the Uno Melodic record label....
, Give Me Your Love
Give Me Your Love (album)

Give Me Your Love is Sylvia Striplin's only released album, released on Uno Melodic records with the help of Roy Ayers....
 (Uno Melodic Records 1981).

In the 1990s, Ayers released several albums for the hip hop
Hip hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement built largely around the music genre of hip hop music, which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 records label Ichiban Records
Ichiban Records

Ichiban Records was a hip hop record label founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels....
.

Ayers has founded two record labels, Uno Melodic and Gold Mink Records. The first released several LPs, including Sylvia Striplin's, while the second folded after a few singles.

In popular culture


Music

  • Hip-Hop Producer Madlib
    Madlib

    Madlib is a California-based DJ, multi-instrumentalist, rapping, and record producer. Known under a plethora of pseudonyms, he is one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed hip hop production of the 2000s and has collaborated with a myriad of hip hop artists, including The Alkaholiks, Mos Def, De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli...
    , under the rapper pseudonym Quasimoto
    Madlib

    Madlib is a California-based DJ, multi-instrumentalist, rapping, and record producer. Known under a plethora of pseudonyms, he is one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed hip hop production of the 2000s and has collaborated with a myriad of hip hop artists, including The Alkaholiks, Mos Def, De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli...
    , recorded the song "Seasons Change" using a plausibly risky sample of Roy Ayers. The song is included as a b-side to the "Bullyshit" single, under the independent imprint Lord Inamel's Wax. The song was apparently removed from the full-length album, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
    The Further Adventures of Lord Quas

    The Further Adventures of Lord Quas is the second album by Quasimoto, Madlib's alter ego. The Bus Ride EP was released in late 2004 and featured the singles "Bus Ride", "Rappcats", and "Greenery"....
    , released on Peanut Butter Wolf
    Peanut Butter Wolf

    Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf, is a DJ, hip-hop producer and the founder of hip-hop label Stones Throw Records.A native of San Jose, California , he has been active since 1989 when he produced a song by Lyrical Prophecy called "You Can't Swing This"....
    's Stones Throw Records
    Stones Throw Records

    Stones Throw Records is an independent record label hip hop music record label based in California.It was started in 1996 in music by DJ/Hip hop production Peanut Butter Wolf....
    .
  • UK Hip-Hop artist Nicky Spesh
    Nicky Spesh

    Nicky Spesh hails from North London, England. An emerging member of the British hip hop and Grime scene alongside the likes of Sway DaSafo. Nicky Spesh first became recognised when he freestyled over DJ Kool Herc's set at The Scala in London in 2002....
    , performed "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" in March 2007 at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden
    Covent Garden

    Covent Garden is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest corner of the London Borough of Camden....
     London
    London

    London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
    , England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
     with members of acid jazz
    Acid jazz

    Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly Music loop beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic music dance/pop music: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd are often credited as forerunners of aci...
     outfit Ton Ton Macoute using instruments constructed solely out of recycled baked bean tins to make a point about global warming
    Global warming

    Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
    .
  • His song "Running Away" was used as part of the soundtrack for the Playstation 2
    PlayStation 2

    The PlayStation 2 is a History of video game consoles video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation of video game consoles....
     game Driver Parallel Lines.
  • "Running Away" was also used in an episode of Top Gear. It was used in the original amphbious cars challenge, and was played when Richard Hammond
    Richard Hammond

    Richard Mark Hammond , nicknamed "Hamster" due to his size, is a British presenter of radio and television, best known for co-presenting the television programme Top Gear since 2002....
     arrived for the first time in his VW Camper Van.


Videogames

  • In October 2004 Running Away appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
    Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

    Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a Nonlinear gameplay action-adventure game computer game and video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the third 3D computer graphics game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and fifth original game overall....
    , playing on Funk
    Funk

    Funk is an United States Music genre that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music....
     radio station Bounce FM
    Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack

    The soundtrack of the computer and video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which is set in 1992 in the fictional West Coast of the United States state of San Andreas , required that the game's radio stations reflect the music tastes of the time and area, in addition to covering current events in the state of San Andreas, and even...
    .
  • Two years later in October 2006, Roy Ayers appeared for the second time in the popular franchise, this time on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a Nonlinear gameplay action-adventure game video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North....
     with his signature song Everybody Loves the Sunshine, which features on Soul
    Soul music

    Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
     radio station VC for Lovers
    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories soundtrack

    The soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is presented as a series of radio stations that broadcast music and information to Vice City, circa 1984....
    .
  • Roy Ayers Appeared for a third time in the popular game franchise Grand Theft Auto
    Grand Theft Auto

    Grand Theft Auto may refer to*Motor vehicle theft, a crime in many jurisdictions*Grand Theft Auto , the first film directed by Ron Howard*Grand Theft Auto , a computer and video game series...
    , with his song "Funk In The Hole" on the Grand Theft Auto IV
    Grand Theft Auto IV

    Grand Theft Auto IV is a Nonlinear gameplay Action-adventure game video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto ....
     Soundtrack, in the game it appears on Fusion FM, The station of which he also hosts.
  • "Running Away" also appeared on the soundtrack
    Soundtrack

    The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
     of Driver: Parallel Lines
    Driver: Parallel Lines

    Driver: Parallel Lines is the fourth video game in the Driver series. The game was released on March 14 , 2006 on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles by Atari, Wii and Personal computer on June 26 2007 by Ubisoft....
    .


Discography


  • West Coast Vibes (United Artists) – 1963
  • Virgo Vibes (Atlantic
    Atlantic Records

    Atlantic Records is an United States record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and jazz. Long one of the most important American independent labels, Atlantic now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group, which consolidated Atlantic Records and the Elektra Entertainment Group into one...
    ) – 1967
  • Daddy Bug & Friends (Atlantic) – 1967
  • Stoned Soul Picnic (32 Jazz) – 1968
  • Daddy’s Back (Atco
    Atco Records

    Atco Records is an United States record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment....
    ) – 1969
  • He’s Coming (Polydor
    Polydor Records

    Polydor Records is a record label currently headquartered in the United Kingdom, and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group....
    ) – 1971
  • Ubiquity (Polydor) – 1971
  • Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival (Verve
    Verve Records

    Verve Records is an United States Jazz record label now owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records and material which had been licensed to Mercury Records previously....
    ) – 1972
  • Red, Black And Green (Polydor) – 1973
  • Coffy (soundtrack)
    Coffy

    Coffy is a 1973 in film blaxploitation film Screenwriter and Film director by American films filmmaker Jack Hill.The story is about a African American female vigilante, played by Pam Grier....
     (Polydor) - 1973
  • Virgo Red (Polydor) – 1973
  • Change Up The Groove (Polydor) – 1974
  • A Tear To A Smile (Polydor) – 1975
  • Mystic Voyage (Polydor) – 1975
  • Everybody Loves the Sunshine
    Everybody Loves the Sunshine

    Everybody Loves The Sunshine is a Roy Ayers album, released in 1976. The signature track is featured on popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, playing on VCFL....
     (Polydor) - 1976
  • Vibrations (Polydor) – 1976
  • Crystal Reflections (Muse
    Muse Records

    Muse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields , who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s....
    ) – 1977
  • Lifeline (Polydor) – 1977
  • Let’s Do It (Polydor) – 1978
  • Step Into Our Life (Polydor) – 1978
  • You Send Me (Polydor) – 1978
  • Fever (Polydor) – 1979
  • Love Fantasy (Polydor) – 1980
  • No Stranger To Love (Polydor) – 1980
  • Prime Time (Polydor) – 1980
  • Music Of Many Colors (With Fela Kuti
    Fela Kuti

    Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights Activism, and Politics maverick....
    )
    (Celluloid) – 1980
  • Africa, Center Of The World (Polydor) – 1981
  • Feelin’ Good (Polydor) – 1981
  • In The Dark (Columbia
    Columbia Records

    Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
    ) – 1984
  • Goree Island – 1984
  • In the Dark – 1984
  • Poo PooLa La – 1984
  • You Might Be Surprised (Columbia) – 1985
  • I’m The One (For Your Love Tonight) (Columbia) – 1987
  • Searchin’ (Live) (Ronnie Scott's Jazz House
    Ronnie Scott

    Ronnie Scott was an England jazz Tenor saxophone and jazz club owner....
    ) – 1991
  • Drive (Ichiban
    Ichiban Records

    Ichiban Records was a hip hop record label founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels....
    ) – 1992
  • Wake Up (Ichiban) – 1992
  • Double Trouble (With Rick James
    Rick James

    Rick James was an American musician. He was one of the most popular artists on the Motown Records label during the late 1970s and early 1980s....
    )
    (Uno Melodic) – 1992
  • Good Vibrations (Live) (Ronnie Scott's Jazz House) – 1993
  • Fast Money (Live At Ronnie Scott’s) (Castle) – 1994
  • Vibesman (Live At Ronnie Scott’s) (Music Club) – 1995
  • Nasté (Groovetown) – 1995
  • Hot (Live At Ronnie Scott’s) (Ronnie Scott's Jazz House) – 1996
  • Spoken Word (AFI) – 1998
  • Lots Of Love (Charly
    Charly Records

    Charly Records is a United Kingdom record label which specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay Records, Sun Records, Immediate Records, BYG Actuel, Tomato Head Records, and Fania Records....
    ) – 1998
  • Juice (Charly) – 1999
  • Live At Ronnie Scott’s (DVD Audio) (Castle) – 2001
  • For Café Après-midi (Universal Japan
    Universal Music Group

    Universal Music Group is the largest business group and family of record labels in the Record industry. With a 25.5% market share, it is one of the Music industry....
    ) – 2002
  • Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 (Rapster) – 2004
  • Mahogany Vibe (Rapster) – 2004
  • Virgin Ubiquity II: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 (Rapster) – 2005
  • Virgin Ubiquity Remixed (Rapster) – 2006
  • Perfection (Aim
    AIM Records

    AIM Records is a Norway record label that specializes in acoustic improvised music, both jazz and classical music located in Oslo, Norway. They represent many of the new artists who are among the up and coming in the Norwegian music scene and some already well established acts....
    ) – 2006


External links

  • of Roy Ayers