A documentary film on the life, music, and philosophy of funk, soul, and jazz composer Roy Ayers, which we first alerted you in 2011, and which I haven’t heard, read or received any information about since then, is still very much alive apparently.
The following comes from a blog post on the project’s site: "During the last calendar year, the Roy Ayers Project team has taken time away from the project to grow as individuals, manage life’s situations, obstacles, and challenges, and really take time to reflect on the past while tooling for the future. During our time away, we have individually and collectively experienced life changing events like physical relocating, gaining and losing family and loved ones, dealing with peaks and valleys, and experiencing the life’s journey. With that said, the Roy Ayers Project remains important to us, and we would love to proceed with our intended goal of completing the Roy Ayers Documentary, preserving the legacy of one of the greatest jazzmen to ever live. In addition to working on the documentary, we will continue to populate our site as best we can. Individually speaking, working on the Roy Ayers Project site on a regular basis helps me maintain a creative outlet as well as learn and educate through music, while interacting with likeminded individuals all over the world. It is time for me to reconnect with what I love. I feel I owe it to myself, the people who have helped me this far, and Roy Ayers himself. We appreciate all those who have followed us thus far, and we look forward to gaining more along the way. Any feedback, comments, or suggestions would love to be heard, and we will address them accordingly. Moving forward, Haylow."
Haylow is one half of the directing team, made up of Haylow Overby and Ariel Nuñez.
Titled simply, "The Roy Ayers Project," the film will feature, of course, Roy Ayers himself, as well as many Hip Hop producers (especially those who have sampled his music), and the many other musicians who have been influenced by the man and his music.
The documentary was planned for a 2012 release, but that obviously didn’t happen. 3 years later, it looks like the filmmakers plan to finish the film, finally. After as much progress as they made, I certainly hope that they will see it all the way through.
A website was set up to house the project, and much more. It’s a rather busy, albeit engaging site, driven by the music, message, essence and influences of Roy Ayers. You will also find tons of photographs of the production team as they travel the globe, interviewing a variety of contributors to the film. So check it out at RoyAyersProject.com.
I love it when projects of much interest that I’ve been tracking from their beginnings, are eventually realized, even if it’s many years later. I’ve reached out to the filmmakers for an update, and hope to hear from them eventually. I’ll update this post once I have new info to share.
While we wait, here is an old teaser trailer, as well as 3 clips from the film, featuring Ayers himself, as well as Questlove and Bobbito Garcia:
