Roy Ayers JID002

The ongoing collaboration between A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad and innovative producer Adrian Younge has yielded several successful endeavors, including their soundtrack to Netflix’s Luke Cage adaptation. For the second installment of their Jazz Is Dead series of EPs, the prodigious duo brings on none other than Roy Ayers to turn the titular statement on its head. Ayers’ mastery of the keys and vibraphone shine through on the majestic “Shadows of the East” and the frenetic cool of “Solace.” Recalling the cinematic funk of his 1973 soundtrack to the movie Coffy, “Sunflowers” grooves along with the benefit of a breathy female soul vocal, while “African Sounds” closes things out in spoken-word style.