Yussef Dayes

Submitted by nonesuch on Wed, 04/05/2023 - 13:04
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Dayes Yussef
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https://www.instagram.com/yussefdayes/
Youtube URL
https://www.youtube.com/@yussefdayes12

Multi-instrumentalist Yussef Dayes' highly anticipated debut solo studio album, Black Classical Music, is due September 8 via Brownswood Recordings, Warner Music, and Cashmere Thoughts Recordings and in the US on Nonesuch Records. You can watch the video for the title track, featuring Venna & Charlie Stacey, here:

"What is jazz,” Dayes asks. “Where did the word derive from? Birthed in New Orleans, born in the belly of the Mississippi River, rooted in the gumbo pot of the Caribbean, South American culture, and African rituals. Continuing a lineage of Miles Davis, Rahssan Roland Kirk, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong—music that is forever evolving and limitless in its potential. The groove, its feeling, the compositions, the spontaneity, with a love for family, the discipline and 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."

Yussef Dayes’ drum licks and Rocco Palladino’s bass are the anchors to Dayes’ nineteen-track debut solo studio album, aided by Charlie Stacey (keys/synths), Venna (saxophone), Alexander Bourt (percussion), and a host of features including: Chronixx, Masego, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Elijah Fox, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross, and the Chineke! Orchestra—the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black and ethnically diverse musicians.

Yussef Dayes’ career is expansive and wide reaching; his rise can be first linked to the Afrocentric quartet United Vibrations, alongside his two brothers, Ahmad and Kareem, and saxophonist Wayne Francis. This was followed by the highly successful but short-lived duo Yussef Kamaal, with keyboardist Kamaal Williams. More recently, Dayes released Live at Joshua Tree, an EP presented by Soulection, and other solo releases including the live album Welcome to the Hills and Love Is the Message, which was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios.

His extensive list of collaborators includes talents across both music and fashion—from 2020’s Top 5-charting collaboration with Tom Misch, What Kinda Music (Blue Note), to an official remix of Pa Salieu’s “Frontline” on Wizkid’s Made in Lagos album to production for R&B artists Kali Uchis and Kehlani. Dayes had a special artistic relationship with the late Louis Vuitton innovator Virgil Abloh, who hand-picked him to soundtrack and curate a Louis Vuitton dinner show for Paris Men’s Fashion Week and invited him to perform at the Louis Vuitton Museum in Paris, among other collaborations.

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Latest Release

  • September 8, 2023

    On multi-instrumentalist Yussef Dayes’ debut solo studio album, Black Classical Music, Dayes’ drum licks and Rocco Palladino’s bass are the anchors, aided by Charlie Stacey (keys/synths), Venna (saxophone), Alexander Bourt (percussion), and a host of features including: Chronixx, Masego, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Elijah Fox, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross, and the Chineke! Orchestra—the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black and ethnically diverse musicians.

Releases

News

  • September 8, 2023

    Multi-instrumentalist Yussef Dayes' debut solo studio album, Black Classical Music, is out now. Dayes’ drum licks and Rocco Palladino’s bass are the anchors to this nineteen-track debut solo studio album, with Charlie Stacey (keys/synths), Venna (saxophone), Alexander Bourt (percussion), and a host of features including: Chronixx, Masego, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Elijah Fox, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross, and the Chineke! Orchestra—the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black and ethnically diverse musicians.

  • August 23, 2023

    "'The Light' celebrates the birth of my daughter Bahia," Yussef Dayes says of the new song from his upcoming album, Black Classical Music. "'The Light' is a Dayes lullaby song. The sweet harpsichord is a sound that Bahia was captivated by, although it was also a song she fell asleep too. An ode to Stevie Wonder's 'Isn’t She Lovely,' I wanted to add Bahia's voice from footage and voice notes I've recorded over the last few years since her birth. Bahia introduces the song and shares her positive affirmations with her mum, something she can't go to sleep without doing now."

Tour

Thu, Nov 16
Brooklyn, NY
Warsaw
Thu, Nov 16
Brooklyn, NY
Warsaw
Fri, Nov 17
Boston, MA
Royale
Fri, Nov 17
Boston, MA
Royale
Sat, Nov 18
Philadelphia, PA
Union Transfer
Sat, Nov 18
Philadelphia, PA
Union Transfer
Sun, Nov 19
New York, NY
Irving Plaza
Sun, Nov 19
New York, NY
Irving Plaza
Tue, Nov 21
Detroit, MI
El Club
Tue, Nov 21
Detroit, MI
El Club
Wed, Nov 22
Chicago, IL
Thalia Hall
Wed, Nov 22
Chicago, IL
Thalia Hall
Fri, Nov 24
Atlanta, GA
Variety Playhouse
Fri, Nov 24
Atlanta, GA
Variety Playhouse
Sat, Nov 25
Charlotte, NC
Neighborhood Theatre
Sat, Nov 25
Charlotte, NC
Neighborhood Theatre
Sun, Nov 26
Nashville, TN
City Winery
Sun, Nov 26
Nashville, TN
City Winery
Tue, Nov 28
Seattle, WA
The Showbox
Tue, Nov 28
Seattle, WA
The Showbox

Photos

About Yussef Dayes

  • Multi-instrumentalist Yussef Dayes' highly anticipated debut solo studio album, Black Classical Music, is due September 8 via Brownswood Recordings, Warner Music, and Cashmere Thoughts Recordings and in the US on Nonesuch Records. You can watch the video for the title track, featuring Venna & Charlie Stacey, here:

    "What is jazz,” Dayes asks. “Where did the word derive from? Birthed in New Orleans, born in the belly of the Mississippi River, rooted in the gumbo pot of the Caribbean, South American culture, and African rituals. Continuing a lineage of Miles Davis, Rahssan Roland Kirk, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong—music that is forever evolving and limitless in its potential. The groove, its feeling, the compositions, the spontaneity, with a love for family, the discipline and 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."

    Yussef Dayes’ drum licks and Rocco Palladino’s bass are the anchors to Dayes’ nineteen-track debut solo studio album, aided by Charlie Stacey (keys/synths), Venna (saxophone), Alexander Bourt (percussion), and a host of features including: Chronixx, Masego, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Elijah Fox, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross, and the Chineke! Orchestra—the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black and ethnically diverse musicians.

    Yussef Dayes’ career is expansive and wide reaching; his rise can be first linked to the Afrocentric quartet United Vibrations, alongside his two brothers, Ahmad and Kareem, and saxophonist Wayne Francis. This was followed by the highly successful but short-lived duo Yussef Kamaal, with keyboardist Kamaal Williams. More recently, Dayes released Live at Joshua Tree, an EP presented by Soulection, and other solo releases including the live album Welcome to the Hills and Love Is the Message, which was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios.

    His extensive list of collaborators includes talents across both music and fashion—from 2020’s Top 5-charting collaboration with Tom Misch, What Kinda Music (Blue Note), to an official remix of Pa Salieu’s “Frontline” on Wizkid’s Made in Lagos album to production for R&B artists Kali Uchis and Kehlani. Dayes had a special artistic relationship with the late Louis Vuitton innovator Virgil Abloh, who hand-picked him to soundtrack and curate a Louis Vuitton dinner show for Paris Men’s Fashion Week and invited him to perform at the Louis Vuitton Museum in Paris, among other collaborations.

Performs On