Never-before-aired Roy Ayers’ song released by BBE Music

Written by Site Hub on May 20, 2020

Over the weekend, a “new” song by American funk, jazz, and soul composer and producer Roy Ayers and his band titled “Reaching the Highest Pleasure” was released via online streaming services. Ayers and his band originally recorded the track during a June 1977 Virgin Ubiquity studio recording session.

Ayers is best known for pioneering jazz-funk and influencing a generation of music artists, especially hip-hop producers who use samples of his music in their own creations. The disco hit “Running Away” from the 1977 “Lifeline” album charted at #77 on the Billboard 200. The album had a 25-week run on that same chart. Ayers also received the Congress of Racial Equality’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his influence on music and society.

The BBE Music label found the long-lost, nearly six-minute jazz song on old session tapes and then had it remastered by Optimum mastering in Bristol. As the label explained: “As we all know, pleasure is most rewarding when it’s shared, no matter how long it takes. So enjoy this previously unpublished page of musical history from the Godfather of neo soul himself, Mr. Roy Ayers…”

Since the release, the song has impressed fans and critics. It features what BBE Music describes as a “sumptuous bass-line and ultra-tight groove” enhanced by Ayers on the vibraphone in a way that makes the music “soar.”