Lifeline

Personnel: Roy Ayers (vibraphone); Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sylvia Cox (vocals); Justo Almario (saxophone); Edwin Birdsong (background vocals).
With their appealing jazz-funk fusion and proto-acid jazz jams, Roy Ayers Ubiquity had some winning moments in the 1970s. One of them, "Running Away," can be found on 1977's LIFELINE. A disco-infused dance hit, "Running Away" works a burbling groove that induces shimmying and shaking upon first listen. Some of that magic spills over into the other tracks on LIFELINE, though the album suffers some from dated production and concessions to the trends of the time. Even so, Ayer's tasteful vibes work keeps things cooking, as does the funky playing of his ensemble.