Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Yussef Dayes is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.
(Photo: Bunny Bread)“If you’re not working with people that are pushing you,” said drummer Yussef Dayes, “then it’s missing something.”
A serial collaborator, the London native has followed a distinctive path, weaving his sound through underground jazz and left-field popular music. He first gained recognition during the mid-2010s as a member of the socially conscious quartet United Vibrations. Dayes’ progressive duo with keyboardist Kamaal Williams—named Yussef Kamaal—sculpted the milestone album Black Focus for Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label in 2016, helping to define the sound of London’s contemporary jazz scene. And in 2019, he released Duality (Good Grief), a sultry and electronic-driven two track EP. Most recently, Dayes teamed with guitarist/vocalist Tom Misch for the album What Kinda Music (Blue Note)—a fluid ride through jazz, electronica and hip-hop that includes a guest spot by rapper Freddie Gibbs.
“Genres and stuff ... I don’t really put things into boxes like that,” Dayes said. “For me, I’m inspired by Black music; that’s where I come from. It’s about letting people decipher for themselves what they want it to be.”
Dayes’ skills as a live performer have elevated his status as a performer to watch. At his mostly improvised shows, motifs from his best-known works are combined with fresh ideas, as the drummer revels in call-and-response; the seeming ease with which he devises complex but danceable rhythms is stunning. Regardless of tempi or genre, he can flirt with time, hold back beats and elasticize the air. Dayes seems determined to reach drumming nirvana and bring the audience with him.
With his swagger and unpredictable stage persona, the drummer exudes rock-star appeal. What he does next is anyone’s guess—but this we can bank on: “I’m gonna be dropping something with my trio—[bassist] Rocco Palladino and [keyboardist] Charlie Stacey. The [songs will] all interrelate in some ways—but they’re all very different. It’s my time, now.” DB
This story originally was published in the November 2020 issue of DownBeat. Subscribe here.
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
Mar 2, 2026 9:48 PM
The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
Mar 10, 2026 1:43 PM
Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
