Seeing as VibeRide spent New Years Eve at the Jazz Cafe in London with none other than the legendary Roy Ayers, we thought you might like to hear about it. So here goes. Our evening started off very sedately with a nice evening meal, but the atmosphere was quickly changed when Lex Cameron's Quartet took to the stage. These guys kicked up a funk storm (watch the video) with their skillful renditions of some classic funk grooves and we were particularly impressed when they struck up "Rock Creek Park" by the Blackbyrds. Lex Cameron's smooth and soulful vocals certainly got the crowd into the right mood for the imminent Roy Ayers. They rounded off their set with a great rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", which left the crowd buzzing and they were greeted with an enormous roar of approval as they walked by us on their return back stage. It's great to be able to shake the hand of the performers and thank them personally, if only all music experiences could be like that.
It was about ten thirty when a great cheer erupted and we turned around to see Roy emerge from the dressing rooms and stride right past us on his way down to the stage - once he'd negotiated all the people who wanted their picture taken with him that is!
We were treated to a thumping two hour performance punctuated by a short break to count down the arrival of the New Year with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. Along with other great tunes we were treated to classics such as "Running Away", "Love Will Bring Us Back Together", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" and "We Live In Brooklyn, Baby". Roy showed his willingness to have fun with his songs when he changed the latter's lyrics to "We shop in Tesco's baby" (watch the video).
When the show was finally over and the crowd had finally stopped applauding, Roy remained on stage for quite some time signing CD's, DVD's and anything folk presented to him. When everyone was happy he finally retreated back stage for a very well earned rest. After all, he has to do it all again tomorrow. And the next night.
This was our second time seeing Roy Ayers' New Years Eve show at the Jazz Cafe (read about the first) and each time it is simply a brilliant night. The good thing is that this time around we were able to get plenty of video clips for you, so you can get a taste of the Roy Ayers experience for yourself. However, no video can do the man justice and you'll just have to make sure you catch him yourselves next time.
Check out all the video clips from the night on our YouTube channel.
Roy Ayers latest tour dates (updates regularly):
2 comments:
Nice videos of Roy Ayers! I went to see him on the 2nd and it was the second time I had seen him at the Jazz Cafe... 2 years ago was the previous time. Great performance but it was a tad short as it only lasted around an hour unfortunately. Im also going to see the Sunburst Band which Im really looking forward to.
Thanks Jose.
Yes, we're excited about the Sunburst band gig too. See you there!
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