Roy Ayers - Daddy Bug & Friends/Virgo Vibes

Roy Ayers recorded these sessions in the midst of his four years working with Herbie Mann on some of the flutist's best work. Produced by Mann, the music shows the two sides to the vibist that have been evident throughout his career: one the probing jazz artist, the other a performer with more commercial tendencies. The Virgo Vibes session from 1967 -- with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and trumpeter Charles Tolliver -- opens with its best track, Tolliver's "The Ringer," a piece in the same vein as the advanced hard bop of the trumpeter's big band, Music Inc. Gerald Wilson's "In the Limelight," another highlight, features a strong, imaginative solo from Ayers. Read More