Yussef Dayes
Black Classical Music
Nonesuch
Released 09/08/23 | Listen Below
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Following acclaimed collaborative albums with Kamaal Williams (2016’s Black Focus) and Tom Misch (2020’s What Kinda Music), London-based drummer Yussef Dayes has delivered his debut solo album Black Classical Music. Preceded by a handful of official singles (all of which can be enjoyed below), Black Classical Music features an impressive roster of guest artists including Misch, Shabaka Hutchings, and Chronixx, among many others.
"What is jazz? Where did the word derive from?” Dayes contemplates when describing the album’s inspiration in an official statement. “Birthed in New Orleans, born in the belly of the Mississippi River, rooted in the gumbo pot of the Caribbean, South American culture & African rituals. Continuing a lineage of Miles Davis, Rahssan Roland kirk, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong ~ music that is forever evolving & limitless in its potential. The groove, it’s feeling, the compositions, the spontaneity, with a love for family, the discipline & dedication in maintaining the very high bar set by the pantheon of Black Classical Musicians. Chasing the rhythm of drums that imitated one's heartbeat, the melodies for the mind and spirit, the bass for the core. A Regal sound for this body of music."
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