In 2020, in the midst of COVID, I found myself seeking out new music more than I had in years. I was deep in a YouTube rabbit hole, when I stumbled upon a video of four musicians I hadn’t heard of before. I knew the bassist, Rocco Palladino, as the son of the great bassist Pino Palladino, but the others in the session were totally new to me.

Joined by keyboardist Alfa Mist, guitarist Mansur Brown, and Rocco Palladino on bass, Yussef Dayes commanded the rhythm on drums from the center. His playing on the session was incredible and I instantly became a fan.

Fortunately, these players weren’t one-hit-wonders. Dayes would be joined by Palladino on additional projects, including on-location sets, such as Dayes’ Live at Joshua Tree, Live at North Sea Jazz and Live from Malibu. Each performance blends together infectious jazz grooves that give nods the lo-fi hip-hop I’d grown up with. If only J Dilla was still around to sample from these recordings.

But recently, Dayes dropped Live in Japan. It’s part travel documentary, with Dayes and his father (Dave Dayes) seeing the sites and part killer session with Mount Fuji as the backdrop.

Dayes is centered on drums, surrounded by Rocco Palladino on bass, Venna on sax, and Elijah Fox on keys/synth. Minami Kizuki joins on two of the songs, providing sanshin and vocals.

I was struck by a few things. One, all of these gigs emit so much love and good vibes. No matter how stressful the day is, pulling up one of these gigs always changes the mood. Second, the dynamic between the elder and junior Dayes is so familiar to me. The experience of having your dad with you while you’re doing something incredible feels like a peak in the overall experience of the father-son relationship.

You can find all of these sets on Dayes’ YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/@yussefdayes12

You can stream it on the normal platforms, but if you dig it, I highly recommend checking out his BandCamp site. https://yussefdayes.bandcamp.com/music