Black Classical Music

トム・ミッシュとのコラボ作が話題となった天才ドラマーデビュー作!
トム・ミッシュとのコラボ作「What Kinda Music」やユセフ・カマール名義作品が話題、UKジャズ・ムーブメントの火付け役としてシーンの中心人物であるユセフ・デイズ待望のデビューアルバム!自身のルーツである黒人のクラシック音楽やジャズの系譜を継ぎ進化させたという本作。天才とも評される独特のドラミングを軸に様々なゲストと繰り出される多種多様な全19曲、極上のグルーヴが最高に心地よい。まずはトム・ミッシュ参加の(4)をチェック!

新進気鋭のイギリス人マルチ・インストゥルメンタリスト、ユセフ・デイズによるソロ・デビュー・スタジオ・アルバム発売!

イギリス出身のマルチ演奏者であり、昨今のUKジャズ・ムーブメントに火を着けたキーマンもある、ユセフ・デイズが待望のソロ・デビュー・スタジオ・アルバム『Black Classical Music』を名門レーベル〈Brownswood Recordings〉、〈Warners〉、〈Cashmere Thoughts Recordings〉からリリース!全19曲の本作では、デイズ独特のドラム・リックとロッコ・パラディーノのベースが基盤となり、チャーリー・ステイシー(キーボード/シンセ)、ヴェンナ(サックス)、アレクサンダー・バート(パーカッション)が貢献、さらにゲストにはクロニックス、マセーゴ、トム・ミッシュ、シャバカ・ハッチングスや、黒人や多様な民族が大半を占めるヨーロッパ初のプロ・オーケストラ集団、ザ・チネケ!オーケストラまでと豪華多数。「心臓の鼓動を模したドラムのリズムを追い、心身のためのメロディーを奏で、核となるベースが響く格調高き音楽」とデイズが自身の言葉で語る「ブラック・クラシック・ミュージック」がここに完成!

Drummer, composer, and producer Yussef Dayes is a veteran of Londons diverse jazz scene. His M.O. weds polystylistic variations with electronica, funk, soul, Afrobeat, and reggae. His ranging resume playing with other artists -- Yussef Kamaal, Ruby Rushton, Emanative, Alfa Mist, etc. -- provides the aesthetic background for the sprawling, 19-track, Black Classical Music, Dayes studio debut. It is a culmination of his aesthetic travels, and points squarely at his goal: a seamless musical whole. Right after he and Tom Misch issued the What Kinda Music in 2020, Dayes trio released the live Welcome to the Hills. He followed with 2022s Experience: Live at Joshua Tree. His resume frames creative ground for Black Classical Music -- Dayes debut sums up his aesthetic travels and points toward an integrative, equanimous whole. His band includes bassist Rocco Palladino, keyboardist Charlie Stacey, saxophonist Malik Venna, percussionist Alex Bourt, and a large guest list that includes Shabaka Hutchings, Masego, Misch, Chineke! Orchestra, and others. The record streams across atmospheres, stylistically and sonically. The title-track single is introduced by Vennas saxophone, Staceys piano, and Dayes frenetic drumming, Palladino enters and zeroes in, bridging mercurial post-bop with modal jazz, Afro-Latin percussion and ambient sonics. It segues into "Afro Cubanism," which adds an elastic spiritual dimension to modal Latin jazz. Hutchings guests on "Raisins Under the Sun." Its balance of reeds and brass (tubist Theon Cross, trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, trombonist Nathaniel Cross) in the frontline are prodded by a rumbling, hypnotic bassline, bubbling congas, and a lilting melody joining Latin, Caribbean, and African harmonies and rhythms, as Rhodes piano pulses in the foreground. "Rust," with Misch, is led by Palladino amid breaking snares, with wordless chorus vocals and drifting keys magically melding contemporary jazz and progressive soul. It segues into the spacy, nocturnal fusion of "Turquoise Galaxy" then dissolves into blissful ambient jazz-funk on "The Light." The set title is underscored magnificently by "Magnolia Symphony," performed by Chineke! Orchestra. "Gelato" joins steamy dub bass, shimmering keys, and percussion to silvery contemporary jazz, subtle polyrhythms, and Vennas soprano sax fills. "Marching Band" delivers a resonant, sensual, R&B vocal from Masego. "Jukebox," a sublime exercise in bass-driven jazz-funk is, unfortunately, all too brief. Jamaican reggae singer Chronixx lends his iconic lovers rock vocal to the tender "Pon di Plaza." "Womans Touch," featuring Jamilah Barry, is a mercurial meld of jazz phrasing, contemporary soul, and slinky polyrhythms. "Tioga Pass" is a gorgeous feature for Palladino. His bass playing here recalls Jaco Pastorius in its ability to signify and institute changes in tempo, mode, and rhythm without stylistic disruption. Sweeping strings, Staceys piano, and percussive interplay between Dayes and Bourt fall around Palladino, who traverses groove jazz, progressive, polished R&B, and elegant funk. For all its ambitious creativity, Black Classical Music offers a focused, multivalent story at once autobiographical, cultural, and social. The music is lush, advanced, and welcoming, and comes off without a trace of bloat or conceit. This is easily a top pick for best albums of 2023. ~ Thom Jurek