“Feelings of love, healing, grief, inspiration, more life, unity, groove, spirit and travels… This album is the embodiment of my life to this point”. This is how English drummer and composer Yussef Dayes described his first solo album, Black Classical Music, released on 8th September 2023.
Dayes’ work has recently taken the contemporary London jazz scene by storm. In his impressive range of previous collaborative albums, he offers a distinctive role which no other artist could replicate and his most recent album is no different. Black Classical Music is just another example of Dayes’ innovative work in which he displays his unique creativity, creating a perfect harmony between jazz and electronic music, whilst also managing to include his rapid-fire drum variations.
Dayes opens his album with the title track, which is a dazzling collaboration with Venna, a Grammy-Award Winning Saxophonist, and Charlie Stacey, one of the UK’s leading jazz pianists. What all three of these musicians have in common is their ability to break boundaries within their music, blending elements of jazz, electronica and R&B. Taking inspiration from Miles Davis, ‘Black Classical Music’ sets the tone for the rest of the album, which focuses less on technicalities and more on style and groove.
The fourth track, ‘Rust’, is the most popular on the album (with nearly two million streams on Spotify). After their 2020 album What Kinda Music, ‘Rust’ marks the second collaboration between Dayes and the English musician and producer Tom Misch. Even non-jazz listeners will be intrigued, as crescendo throughout the tune builds thrill and suspense.
In ‘Turquoise Glaxy’, Dayes sets himself apart from other musicians; here, he explores opportunities within jazz to create an atmospheric and spacey tune, while remaining simultaneously committed to the genre. Similarly, ‘The Light’ offers a psychedelic feel, offering an explicit example of Dayes’ incredible drumming skills.
Through collaborations too, Dayes taps into other styles of music. ‘Women’s Touch’, which features Jamilah Berry, explores the genre of soul, providing an easy-listening tune on the album. ‘Marching Band’ is a stand-out collaboration with the Jamaican American singer Masego, discussing the desire for greater female representation in the music industry. This track offers a unique relationship between the singer and the instruments, in which instead of the singer simply singing over the tracks, Masego sings a beat that the backing track then echoes.
Overall, Black Classical Music explores the infinite realms of modern-day jazz, fusing fast-paced drum patterns with a variety of influences from other genres. If you don’t know Yussef Dayes, it’s time to get to know him.
“Yussef Dayes” by andjustinforall is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.