Long before he switched to playing disco and pop music,
Roy Ayers was considered a promising young jazz vibraphonist. This LP, his second as a leader, was one of his finest. On four of the five selections (obscurities and pieces by group members),
Ayers teams up with trumpeter
Charles Tolliver, tenor saxophonist
Joe Henderson, bassist
Reggie Workman, drummer
Bruno Carr, and the mysterious pianist Ronnie Clark (
Herbie Hancock under a disguised name). On "Glow Flower,"
Ayers and
Tolliver are joined by
Harold Land on tenor, pianist
Jack Wilson, bassist
Buster Williams, and drummer
Donald Bailey. The music is primarily advanced hard bop with some freer moments on
Tolliver's "The Ringer." This underrated music is long overdue to be reissued on CD and displays
Roy Ayers' long before he was known as an R&B artist.