Given the huge reissue programme that the music of Roy Ayers has undergone since the 1990s, the ‘rare groove’ era he decisively helped to shape, it may seem excessive to package five of his albums yet again. However, A Tear To A Smile, Mystic Voyageet al are quite simply the choice entries in his discography, and hearing them together, yet again, on this triple CD set is by no means an ear-plugging thankless task. After all, they capture a cherished moment in the mid-1970s when a jazz artist such as Ayers, the gifted vibraphonist who started his career as a sideman with Herbie Mann in the 1960s, built a near perfect bridge with soul, funk, African and Latin music.

Ayers’ band Ubiquity ranks among the finest of the hippie age because of its ability to blend danceable post-James Brown rhythms with gorgeous melodies that would not have been out of place at a prime Earth, Wind & Fire gig. The hard crackin’ backbeat of ‘2000 Black’, the hypnotic balladry of ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’, and the relentless discofied groove of ‘Running Away’ are certified anthems, but lesser known tracks, such as the slinky ‘The Third Eye’ are immense. Those who already know the work can fall in love with it again while envying those new to the partay.