Tom Misch and Yussuf Dayes have recently taken to Instagram to post a series of clips from a joint rooftop jam session.
With Dayes on the drums and Misch on the electric guitar, the duo create a range of jazz, funk, and samba improvised grooves that showcase their undeniable chemistry. Released last year, their collaborative album ‘What Kinda Music’ was a masterful example of this chemistry. Combining electronica and acid jazz in a way that allowed both artists to bring something distinctive to the table, the album helped to fuel the fire of the ever-growing UK jazz scene.
Whilst discussing the pair’s musical relationship in a press release, Misch said, “Yussef comes from a more experimental background, and he has a lot of loose, crazy ideas. I know how to write a catchy melody, but with interesting chords and I have a good understanding of popular song forms, so I think I streamlined those ideas and made them accessible.”
On a more personal note, Dayes then added, “Both our parents, who’d never met each other before, are now best friends as a result of this – they now see each other more than we do! I’d like to think, in some small way, that [‘What Kinda Music’] has a similar impact for people too – everything feels so divided these days, it would be nice for people to hear the record and hear two very different musicians coming together and realize it doesn’t have to be that way.” Indeed, although they come from two different musical worlds, the duo have undoubtedly found a harmonious middle ground.
Whilst Tom Misch has continuously featured in the UK charts over the past few years, Yussuf Dayes – despite being an integral part of London’s underground jazz scene throughout the 2010s – is less well known. ‘What Kinda Music’ was Dayes’ first record since the split of Yussef Kamaal in 2017, his musical project with Henry Wu a.k.a Kamaal Williams. Even more recently, he collaborated with Ben Howard on the singer-songwriter’s most recent album ‘Collections From The Whiteout’. As he has already done, the jazz experimentalist is poised to play a crucial role in the development of the genre in the UK.
London’s (especially South London’s) current jazz scene is vibrant and diverse, ranging from the afro-jazz of KOKOROKO to the electronica-jazz fusion of Moses Boyd. Tom Misch and Yussuf Dayes’ unique musical partnership sits perfectly within this contemporary scene.
