''Lifeline'' is a studio album by

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Pol ...

Ubiquity. It was released in 1977 through

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. Recording sessions for the album took place at

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was one of the first studios in the United States to ...

and

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

in New York City, and at

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

in Los Angeles. Production was handled by Ayers himself with co-production by

Edwin Birdsong Edwin L. Birdsong (August 22, 1941 – January 21, 2019) was an American keyboardist and organist, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/ disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan bas ...

and William Allen. The album features contributions from singers

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

and Sylvia Cox, keyboardist Philip Woo, guitarists Calvin Banks, Chuck Anthony, Glenn Jeffrey and James Mason, drummer Steve Cobb, percussionist Chano O'Ferral, saxophonist

Justo Almario Justo Pastor Almario Gómez (born 18 February 1949) is a Colombian-born, Los Angeles-based flutist, saxophonist and Latin jazz group leader. "Justo Almario: saxophonist, originally from Colombia, who has performed with Freddy Hubbard, Poncho Sanche ...

, and trumpeter John Mosley. The album peaked at number 72 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart and at number 9 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart in the United States. Its lead single, "Running Away", reached peak position No. 19 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart.

Track listing

Personnel

;Roy Ayers Ubiquity * Roy Ayers – vocals,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

, Deagan

vibraharp The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, arrangement (tracks: 2–7, 9–10), producer * Edwin L. Birdsong – vocals, piano, arrangement (track 8), co-producer * William Henry Allen –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, arrangement (track 1), co-producer *

– vocals * Sylvia Cox – vocals * Philip Woo –

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

ARP String Synthesizer The Solina String Synthesizer, also erroneously known as the ARP Solina String Synthesizer or sometimes the ARP String Synthesizer, is a combination of a string synthesizer and synthesizer. It is a hybrid model which combined both the Solina St ...

, piano * Chuck Anthony – guitar * Calvin Banks – guitar * Glenn S. Jeffrey – guitar * James Philip Mason – guitar * Kwame Steve Cobb – drums * Chano O'Ferral –

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

, percussion *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

* John Clifford Mosley, Jr. – trumpet ;Technical * Michael Hutchinson – engineering * David Wittman – engineering * Bruce Hensal – engineering * Jerry Solomon – engineering * James Patrick Green – engineering * Basil Pao Ho-Yun – art direction * Kathie McKinty – photography

Chart history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1977 albums Roy Ayers albums Polydor Records albums Albums produced by Roy Ayers