jazz

Yussef Dayes

1 festival played

London drummer whose fluid, hard-swinging kit work made Yussef Kamaal a landmark before he stepped out alone — jazz shaped by sound-system weight.

Yussef Dayes is a drummer from south east London who came up playing with his brothers Ahmed and Kareem in United Vibrations, a group that mixed jazz with Afrobeat and psychedelic rock. His profile widened through the duo Yussef Kamaal, formed with keyboardist Kamaal Williams, whose 2016 album Black Focus tied broken-beat and hip-hop rhythms to loose, improvised playing and became a reference point for the wider London scene of the period.

Since then Dayes has recorded as a leader and collaborator, including the 2020 album What Kinda Music made with Tom Misch, and the 2023 solo record Black Classical Music. His playing is marked by fast, elastic hi-hat and snare work, and by a live approach that leaves space for extended improvisation.

jazz