Personnel: Roy Ayers (vocals, keyboards, vibraphone). By the late 1990s Roy Ayers had come to be regarded as something of a prophet of the acid-jazz movement: DJs and hip-hop artists pilfered his 1970s albums to make use of the cool, jazzy funk grooves. It is in this light that DESTINATION MOTHERLAND: A ROY AYERS ANTHOLOGY is best considered. Over its two discs and 33 tracks, DESTINATION finds Ayers and his vibraphone blurring the boundaries between jazz, disco, soul, psychedelia, hard funk, and smooth R&B, creating music that is at once genre-defying and thoroughly accessible. It's a great introduction to Ayers's '70s work, and a motherlode for fans of soul- and acid jazz.

• Genre: Jazz
• Format: CD
• Released: 2/21/2006