Roy Ayers, a vibraphonist who in the 1970s helped pioneer a new, funkier strain of jazz, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 84.
His death, in a hospital, was announced by his son Mtume, who said he died after a long illness.
In addition to being one of the acknowledged masters of the jazz vibraphone, Mr. Ayers was a leader in the movement that added electric instruments, rock and R&B rhythms, and a more soulful feel to jazz. He was also one of the more commercially successful jazz musicians of his generation.
He released nearly four dozen albums, most notably 22 during his 12 years with Polydor Records. Twelve of his Polydor albums spent a collective 149 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart. His composition “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” from his 1976 album of the same name, has been sampled nearly 200 times by artists including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg.
He received his first national exposure in 1966, when he joined the band of the flutist Herbie Mann, one of the more successful musicians in jazz at the time. He would go on to make 11 albums as a member of Mr. Mann’s group for Atlantic Records and Mr. Mann’s own label, Embryo.
His later period is marked by the formation of the Roy Ayers Ubiquity, the band with which he would become a soul-jazz star. The name was suggested by his manager, Myrna Williams — and, he explained in a 2016 interview for the website The HistoryMakers, the choice “was wonderful, because I can tell everybody I can be everywhere at the same time.”
He and his band released 11 albums from 1970 to 1977, with such evocative titles as “Change Up the Groove” and “Vibrations.” In addition to using electric instruments and producing grooves more suited to a dance floor than a jazz club, the Roy Ayers Ubiquity included vocals by Mr. Ayers. Some members of the group were featured on Mr. Ayers’s soundtrack for the 1973 blaxploitation film “Coffy,” starring Pam Grier.
Mr. Ayers is survived by his wife, Argerie; daughter, Ayana Ayers; and a granddaughter.
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