Roy Ayers, pioneer musician behind Everybody Loves the Sunshine, dies aged 84

The statement continued: "He lived a beautiful 84 years and will be sorely missed. His family ask that you respect their privacy at this time, a celebration of Roy’s life will be forthcoming."

Ayers released a dozen of albums over the course of his career, starting with his debut album, West Coast Vibes, in 1963.

He went on to form his band Roy Ayers Ubiquity and develop his signature jazz-funk sound, which featured Ayers on the vibraphone.

Ayers previously opened up about how he was inspired to learn the instrument after meeting jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton – who gave him a pair of mallets – at the age of five years old.

“At the time, my mother and father told me he laid some spiritual vibes on me,” he told The Los Angeles Times in a 2011 interview.

In 1976, Ayers released his most famous hit, Everybody Loves the Sunshine, which became one of the most sampled jazz tracks of all time.

"It was so spontaneous. It felt wonderful. And I knew exactly how I wanted it to sound: a mix of vibraphone, piano and a synthesiser. We recorded it at night, so the sun was down, but the vibe in the studio was really nice. Pure vibes," he recalled about the making of the hit in a 2017 interview with The Guardian.

Ayers is survived by his wife, Argerie, and their children, Mtume and Ayana Ayers.