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He’s Coming captures Roy Ayers at the absolute top of his game, masterminding jazz-funk grooves as taut as a tightrope. Profoundly inspired by the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar (and including a reading of the soundtrack’s “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”), the album is a deeply felt exploration of Ayers’ spiritual and social beliefs, celebrating the life and rebirth of Jesus with “He’s a Superstar” and its follow-up title cut before delivering the equally impassioned political manifesto “Ain’t Got Time to Be Tired,” a wake-up call for slumbering revolutionaries. Aided by an exemplary backing unit featuring saxophonist Sonny Fortune, bassist John Williams, keyboardist Harry Whitaker, and drummer Billy Cobham, Ayers channels the intensity of his message into his music, creating the most vibrant and textured music of his career to date. The atmospheric “We Live in Brooklyn, Baby” is an absolute masterpiece, a haunting hybrid of jazz, funk, and soul that exemplifies the Ayers aesthetic at its most far-reaching and inventive. (Jason Ankeny/AllMusic).

Track listing:

A1 – 0:00 – He’s A Superstar [Written by Myrnaleah Williams, Roy Ayers]
A2 – 5:40 – He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother [Written by Sidney Keith Russell, Bobby Scott]
A3 – 9:50 – Ain’t Got Time [Written by Roselle Weaver]
A4 – 12:47 – I Don’t Know How To Love Him [Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice]
B1 – 16:54 – He’s Coming [Written by Roy Ayers]
B2 – 23:15 – We Live In Brooklyn Baby [Written by Harry Whitaker]
B3 – 27:03 – Sweet Butterfly Of Love [Written by Emily Jane Manning]
B4 – 28:58 – Sweet Tears [Written by Roselle Weaver, Roy Ayers]
B5 – 32:33 – Fire Weaver [Written by Roy Ayers]

He's Coming

• AYERS ROY
• JAZZ
• INTERNATIONAL
• MUSIC
• Audio CD – Audiobook

$24.99

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Personnel:

Arranged By, Electric Piano, Organ, Vocals – Harry Whitaker
Arranged By, Vibraphone, Organ, Vocals – Roy Ayers
Backing Vocals – Carol Smiley, Gloria Jones, Victoria Hospedale
Bass – John Williams (8) (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B3 to B5), Ron Carter (tracks: B2)
Congas – Juma Santos
Drums – David Lee, Jr.
Drums, Percussion – Billy Cobham
Guitar – Bob Fusco (tracks: B2), Sam Brown (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B3 to B5)
Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Sonny Fortune
Strings – Selwart Clarke

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Label: Polydor – PD 5022, Polydor – 2391 027
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Monarch Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1972