Review / This album marks the change in Roy Ayers’ sound, it also marks the beginning of the Ubiquity era. Ubiquity was his new band, together they created a sound that was never duplicated (in my humble opinion). This LP reflects the sound of jazz, funk, and a little soul…it’s serious in its approach, and packed with nothing but hardcore grooves. It’s also known that on this record, for the first time, Roy Ayers used the fuzz on his vibraphone to create an effect that had never been heard before, the fuzz was known mainly for being used with guitars at the time…so that experiment was not only successful in its output, but it was innovative and groundbreaking as well.
Design / Ubiquity…present, appearing, or found everywhere. I think this cover, in part, just about sums up the definition of the word. I’m always a fan of 70′s cover design that uses tricky photo techniques, simply because these effects were created without the use of computers/photoshop. But this is an intriguing cover overall, from the overlapping repeat imagery, to the slanted typography (which appears to be Futura Extra Bold). The intense stare given off by Ayers in the portrait clues us in to the fact that this will be a statement album. And it totally was.
Info / Artist: Roy Ayers / Album: Ubiquity / Year: 1971 / Label: Polydor
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3 Comments
This is one of my favorite albums by Roy Ayers
Speaking of whom, did you get Uptown to the tribute concert that Pete Rock and Robert Glasper did for him a week or so ago?
Also, I think Monty Stark (R.I.P.) used the fuzz on the vibes around the same time, or maybe a little before. Of course Roy is more widely known though.