NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Roy Ayers, the trailblazer of jazz, funk and neo-soul whose “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” proved a hugely popular hip-hop sample, has died. He was 84 years old.

The artist’s family shared the news in a Facebook post, saying the vibraphonist, composer and producer died in New York on March 4 following a long illness.

“He lived a beautiful 84 years and will be sorely missed,” read the post published late Wednesday.

Ayers is considered a master of jazz vibraphone, and was also a leading force in introducing soul to jazz with electric instruments and rhythms drawing on R&B and rock.

A rare jazz artist who found consistent commercial success, Ayers released nearly four dozen albums over the course of his career, frequently bouncing into the top albums chart.

His 1976 track “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times by major artists including Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Mary J Blige.

And the electric piano hook off “Love” featured in the 1990 dance smash “Groove Is in the Heart.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ayers grew up in a musical family with clear sights on making it his career.

He has described receiving his first set of vibraphone mallets at age five from the famed vibraphonist and percussionist Lionel Hampton, whose music Ayers’s parents frequently played for him.

He founded the band that would help make him a household name, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, in 1970.

The eventual “Godfather of Neo-Soul” found remarkable success with the label Polydor, releasing 11 albums with them from 1970 to 1977.

A true artist’s artist, his collaborations over the decades included Fela Kuti, Whitney Houston, Rick James, Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys, The Roots and Tyler, The Creator.

“The cat who birthed us all in the ‘vibes only’ movement,” wrote famed Roots drummer Questlove on Instagram, calling Ayers’s music “life changing.”

“Thank You Roy Edward Ayers Jr for EVERYTHING you gave us. taught us. showed us. soothed us.”

And former US presidential candidate Kamala Harris called Ayers “legendary.”

“I grew up listening to the legendary Roy Ayers,” the Democrat wrote Thursday on X, saying the artist was a family favorite in her household.

“‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’ is one of my favorite songs, and it has scored some of the most important moments in my life,” she added.

“Our family sends our prayers to Roy’s loved ones and everyone who — like us — has been impacted by his music.”