 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |
"Stoned Soul Picnic" |
 | ||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
 | ||||||
ROOTDOWN COMMENT >>
Stoned classic jazz from 1968 - Herbie Mann produced this and it features Herbie Hancock, Gary Bartz, Ron Carter, Grady Tate - a bona fide star-fest! - the mood is funky summer, Roy Ayers' vibes are superb - all is right with the world...
EDITORIAL REVIEW >>
Thirtysomethings who grew up in the '70s and '80s grooved to vibraphonist Roy Ayers's funky hits "Freaky Deaky" and "Running Away," and modern hip-hop groups like The Roots sampled Ayers's riffs and exposed him to an even younger crowd. This 1968 reissue features Herbie Hancock, flutist Hubert Laws, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, drummer Grady Tate, bassists Ron Carter, and Miroslav Vitous and Charles Tolliver on trumpet and flügelhorn, highlighting Ayers's forgotten roots as a jazz fusion artist. Throughout the record, the Los Angeles-born vibraphonist assimilates the styles of Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, and Bobby Hutcherson into an accessible, genre-crossing style. Ayers's "A Rose for Cindy" opens with a spooky, atonal collage and resolves into pensive midtempo tune. Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova-breezed "Wave" and the Stevie Wonder hit "For Once in My Life" shimmer with Tolliver's horn arrangements. The trumpeter's Latin-tinged "Lil's Paradise," the intriguing "What the People Say," and the title track still groove and sound contemporary. --Eugene Holley Jr.
 |  | 'A Rose For Cindy' |
| | 'For Once In My Life' |
| | 'Lil's Paradise' |
| | 'Stoned Soul Picnic' |
| | 'Wave' |
| | 'What The People Say' |
LISTENER REVIEWS >>
COOL
If you love the vibes, then you'll love this cd. Roy Ayers has been around for decades and is still one of my favs. Play this one by candlelight, while sipping wine with the company of someone special!!
El nacimiento del Funky-jazz
... Creo que todo lo editado por Roy Ayers en la década del '60 es altamente recomendable. Junto a Hancock y compaà±ia, y la produccià³n de Herbie Mann, logrà³ valiosas piezas musicales. Fue la base de lo que vendràa en los '70 con Ubiquity y Polydor. Ojalà¡ se editara "West Coast Vibes" de 1963 en CD para poder disfrutalo junto a esta joyas que grabà³ en dicha década... Comprarlo con los ojos cerrados...
José Pablo
good for what it is
As some have already asserted, this is not the music you'd expect from the funk/ fusion Roy Ayers of Mystic Voyage. This album is a whole other kind of beast. Ayers and band do lay down the funk, but without electric instruments and effects that can actually overpower the musical element. Hancock always comes through with strong solos and Ayers' improvisation on "Wave" is nothing short of ecstacy. If anything, it suffers from songs that are a little too long and a disk that is way too short. Lush orchestration and top-notch musicianship are the staples that make this LP a solid effort.
OTHER PEOPLE WHO LIKE "Stoned Soul Picnic" ALSO LIKE >>
 | "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity MORE INFO |
 | "Evolution: The Polydor Anthology" by Roy Ayers MORE INFO |
