by Jason AnkenyThe tipping point of the Roy Ayers catalog, A Tear to a Smile represents the vibist's abandonment of the pioneering jazz-funk ethos of his previous Ubiquity LPs in favor of a slicker, more commercial approach. Recorded in collaboration with vocalists including Dee Dee Bridgewater and Edwin Birdsong, the record is at most an above-average disco release -- the musical equivalent of a master chef wasting his time and talents making a hamburger, if you will. A few cuts capture the fire and innovation of old -- the opening "2000 Black" and "The Old One-Two (Move to Groove)" are undeniably impressive -- but far too often A Tear to a Smile mistakes gloss for groove, an error Ayers would repeat time and again from this moment forward.