Roy Ayers › Similar Artists

Bobbi Humphrey - 100% match to Roy Ayers

Donald Byrd - 98% match to Roy Ayers

9 December 1932, Detroit, Michigan, USA. In the early 50s Byrd studied trumpet and composition and also played in bands during his military service. Later in the decade he was frequently called upon to record with leading bop musicians, including John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Sonny Rollins, Art Blake, Kenny Clarke and Gigi Gryce (with whom he co-led the Jazz Lab Read more

Lonnie Liston Smith - 86% match to Roy Ayers

28 December 1940, Richmond, Virginia, USA. Not to be confused with the soul/jazz organist Lonnie Smith. Born into a very musical family, Smith seemed destined from a very early age to make music his career. His father and two brothers were all vocalists, but it was the keyboard that attracted Smith. After studying at Morgan State University, he moved to New York and immersed Read more

The Blackbyrds - 85% match to Roy Ayers

The original Blackbyrds were formed in 1973 by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd. A doctor of ethnomusicology, Byrd lectured at Washington, DC’s Howard University and the group, named after Black Byrd, the artist’s million-seller, was drawn from his students. The Blackbyrds’ debut album charted in the soul, jazz and pop listings, while the follow-up, Flying Start, featu Read more

Gary Bartz - 75% match to Roy Ayers

26 September 1940, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Bartz, whose father ran a jazz club, began playing alto saxophone at the age of 11. He played in the Alabama State Teachers College band, at his father’s club, and studied at the Juilliard School of Music, New York, and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. He worked with Lee Morgan and Grachan Moncur III, but his first regu Read more

Azymuth - 68% match to Roy Ayers

Azymuth (not to be confused with Azimuth, the UK trio formed in 1977) was formed in Brazil in 1971 by José Roberto Bertrami (21 February 1946, Tatui, Brazil; piano/keyboards), Alex Malheiros (b. 19 August 1946, Niteroi, Brazil; bass), and Ivan Conti (b. 16 August 1946, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; drums - sometimes joined in his percussion duties by Aleuda). Adopting the p Read more

Patrice Rushen - 66% match to Roy Ayers

30 September 1954, Los Angeles, California, USA. Rushen grew up in Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California. She started learning classical piano when she was three, and turned to jazz in her teens. A group with which she was playing won an award for young musicians at Monterey in 1972. She played with a host of artists, including Abbey Lincoln, Donald Read more

Leon Ware - 58% match to Roy Ayers

Ohio Players - 52% match to Roy Ayers

Formed in Dayton, Ohio, USA, this multi-talented unit originated from four members of the Ohio Untouchables, saxophonists Ralph ‘Pee Wee’ Middlebrooks and Clarence ‘Satch’ Satchell, bass player Marshall Jones and guitarist Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner. The Ohio Untouchables forged a reputation as a powerful instrumental group by providing the backing t Read more

Leroy Hutson - 51% match to Roy Ayers

4 June 1945, Newark, New Jersey, USA. This African-American instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer and multi-talented performer generated a host of affiliations, but never achieved a level of success commensurate with his talent. He first formed a vocal group in his native New Jersey, but emerged as a soul music talent while attending Howard University in 1970. There Read more

Idris Muhammad - 50% match to Roy Ayers

Leo Morris, 13 November 1939, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Immaculate, imaginative and equally at home on contemporary jazz and more popular funk and soul sessions, Idris Muhammad is one of America’s most impressive and swinging drummers. Playing since the age of eight, he began working professionally in the soul scene in the early 60s, accompanying vocalists Jerry Butl Read more

Willie Hutch - 50% match to Roy Ayers

Eddie Henderson - 49% match to Roy Ayers

Edward Jackson Henderson, 26 October 1940, New York City, New York, USA. Henderson learned the trumpet at school and studied music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1954-57). There followed three years in the Air Force. He was already playing enough music to be encouraged by Miles Davis to develop his jazz. He returned to academic study, graduating in zoology (1964 Read more

Mandrill - 49% match to Roy Ayers

Minnie Riperton - 49% match to Roy Ayers

8 November 1947, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 12 July 1979, Los Angeles, California, USA. A former singer with the Gems, Riperton recorded under the name ‘Andrea Davis’ prior to joining the Rotary Connection. She remained with this adventurous, black pop/psychedelic group between 1967 and 1970, before embarking on a solo career. In 1973 the singer began working with Read more