Collaborations come and go with most working just fine (Byrne & Eno, Plant & Krauss, Gabriel & Bush, Green & Blacks) but some fail miserably (McCartney & Wonder, Houston & Brown, Almonds & Pork). So what do you think about Roy Ayers vs Pete Rock? Yes, it does sound rather good, doesn't it?

Both men have created some of the most-sampled/most-looped music during the past few decades, with Ayers a vibraphonic jazz master of smooth, funky head-nodding chilled soul sounds and Rock a king of the hip-hop beats and previous collaborator with rapper, CL Smooth, as well as production work for AZ, Brand Nubian, Black Star and Rakim. If you haven't heard Roy Ayers' fabulous "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" or Rock 'n' Smooth's "Mecca & The Soul Brother", check 'em out now - then read on.

Both legends will be teaming up for a string of shows throughout July, starting with Leeds on the 15th, followed by two gigs in Manchester (17th / 18th) and two in London (20th / 21st), with tickets available now, priced at £15 (or £22.50 for London). You can expect Ayers classics to be dressed up with Rock's tight funky beats - now THAT'S a winning combination - as part of the former's ongoing Roy Ayers Project, an idea that fuses the old and the new, the inspiring and the inspired, the soul and the hip-hop (an album and documentary is due 2012).