My Life In The Sunshine

★★★★ Nabil Ayers VIKING. £20

Shadows cast by his famous but absent father colour industry mover’s memoir.

A childhood drummer with his own kit aged three, Nabil Ayers spent much of his adult life fathoming his deep connection to music beyond his shared genealogy with Roy Ayers – the vibraphonist father who got his blunt excuses in before conception. Ayers’ acute recall, factual and emotional, makes for a breezy read as he jams with saxophonist uncle Alan Braufman in New York, negotiates subtle racial hurdles in Salt Lake City and, later, the Seattle indie scene, as he eludes fame with The Lemons and Alien Crime Syndicate. By his thirties, his father’s influence gnaws more than he can ignore, culminating in a meeting that changes everything, but in none of the ways he anticipated. Best known as US head of 4AD, Ayers’ sensitive prose and unswerving honesty make for a highly moving meditation on identity, race and family.

Andy Cowan