Few drummers hit faster or with more dynamic control than Yussef Dayes. Over the past decade, the south London-based musician has become a guiding light for rhythm sections looking to blend jazz improvisation with the polyrhythms of the African diaspora. As one half of the duo Yussef Kamaal, Dayes was a cornerstone of London’s vibrant young jazz scene, mixing instrumental improvisation with everything from dancefloor breakbeats to Senegalese sabar drumming and Salvadorian candomblé.
With Yussef Kamaal splitting after their 2016 debut album, Black Focus, Dayes has since gone global, collaborating with Afrobeats star Wizkid, R&B singer Kehlani and the late designer Virgil Abloh. This year, he released his debut solo album, Black Classical Music, and he took to the stage of the Royal Albert Hall for a sold-out homecoming party.
Accompanied by longtime bandmates including bassist Rocco Palladino (son of legendary session player Pino), saxophonist Venna and keyboardist Elijah Fox, Dayes marshals his youthful band with flair. Opening on the melodic clarion call of the album’s title track, Venna wails over textural cymbal washes before Dayes kicks in with a typically ferocious beat and nods over to Fox, whose fast fingers keep up with a range of sharp phrases. Wearing a beaded beanie hat so low it seems an impossibility that Dayes can even see his kit, he soon launches into a polyrhythmic solo break that heralds album cut Turquoise Galaxy, which has the crowd head-nodding in unison to its swung shuffle.
Guests include singer Jamilah Barry and keyboard player Charlie Stacey, but it’s saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and tuba player Theon Cross who steal the show with a set of blistering solos on Raisins Under the Sun. Strings from the Chineke! Orchestra are another highlight, soaring over Dayes’ breakbeats on the Yussef Kamaal track Strings of Light.
Running close to two hours, Dayes’ set is a display of technical mastery. The uniformity of his groove is both his strength and only weakness, often taking the form of a relentless assault that won’t change pace or cut loose into an explosive freedom. Yet, as he finishes in a trio formation with Fox and Palladino, Dayes is tantalisingly crisp and lively, filling the cavernous concert hall and cementing his place as one of his generation’s greatest players.