One of the greatest pleasures I have as an Ace A&R person is the researching of the acetates and tapes of the many West Coast-based R&B labels that Ace has acquired down the years. I'm always keen to build on the solid foundation of Ray Topping's pioneering vinyl compilations from the 1980s, and thankfully the depth and breadth of repertoire Ace now owns, across labels like Dootone, RIH, Combo, Money, Cash, Blue, Modern, RPM, Flair and more, gives me plenty of scope to do just that.
I've enjoyed getting and keeping a cohesive Central Avenue R&B" series up and running enormously. Ace had been working towards such a thing for some time prior to my arrival, and I've been happy to jump into the driver's seat and continue Ray's work with his encouragement. I'm especially proud of the multi-artist series that focuses on lesser known names from Modern and Combo that debuted during 2004, and have been gratified by the warm response to both from R&B fans.
by TONY ROUNCE
