Let's Do It

by Alex Henderson It's always regrettable when a talented jazz improviser puts jazz on the back burner, and that's exactly what Roy Ayers did when he made soul and funk his primary emphasis in the late '70s. As a jazz vibist, Ayers showed great potential in the '60s and early '70s, so it's understandable that jazz lovers were sorry to see him give up instrumental jazz. But when jazz purists claimed that Ayers' soul/funk output was worthless, they were dead wrong. The truth is that while Let's Do It doesn't have much to offer from a jazz standpoint, it's an excellent R&B outing. Ayers and Ubiquity are as appealing on the infectious funk hit "Freaky Deaky" as they are on "Kiss," "You Came Into My Life," and other examples of mellow, relaxed quiet storm music. While the LP's more mellow offerings have jazz overtones, it's important to realize that they're R&B tunes first and foremost -- saying that something is jazzy is not the same as calling it jazz. Let's Do It isn't the place to go looking for either acoustic jazz or electric jazz-fusion, but it's well worth obtaining if you're interested in '70s soul/funk.