My id/ Aubrey Dayle
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My id/ Aubrey Dayle

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"A soulful exploration"



Aubrey Dayle’s debut album My Id Project is one of self-discovery. In it, he explores the alienation he felt as an immigrant child in Canada, and his sister’s untimely death

T’CHA DUNLEVY THE GAZETTE


“The id: the unconscious source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives.
“My id: the conscious musical illustration of my instinctual needs and drives.”
Audrey Dayle, My Id
Aubrey Dayle’s debut album My Id finds the jazz drummer coming into his own. When he launches the album tonight at La Sala Rossa, he will be coming home.
Born in Jamaica, Dayle grew up in Pointe Claire, and studied jazz at Vanier and classical percussion performance at McGill before heading off to New York City where, he says, the world opened up to him.
“New York was such a different reception,” he said, on the phone from his home in Oshawa, Ont., where he has lived for the past year since moving back to Canada with his wife and children.
“People (in New York) were like, ‘Where have you been? We have work for you. You’re late.’ ”
He studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and began touring extensively with two key collaborators, veteran blues guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer and Morrocan music artist Hassan Hakmoun.
Hakmoun appears on Dayle’s album and Ulmer will join Dayle as a special guest during tonight’s performance.
“He’s like my mentor,” Dayle said of Ulmer. “He inspired me to try to step out more as an artist and composer. You can play with people forever, but it’s hard to express yourself completely (when you’re accompanying someone).”
Dayle played on Ulmer’s 2003 Grammy nominated CD Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions, produced by and featuring Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid. Reid also makes an appearance on Dayle’s album.
Apart from the musical id he discovered in making this record, Dayle made a more personal pilgrimage, delving into the feelings of alienation he experienced growing up as an immigrant. The inner exploration was triggered by the death of his sister Charmaine, in September, 2001.
“It was a catalyst,” he said. “I was living on Staten Island. It was 10 days after 9/11. New York was out of its mind. I was out of my mind. It hit me like a ton of bricks.”
On the song Jane-Finch, Dayle uses excerpts from a CBC documentary his sister made, called Home Feeling: A Struggle for a Community. He also discusses her death, and his struggle to assimilate, in the album’s liner notes.
“Whatever you do in life, you only get one shot to get through it, as far as I know,” Dayle said, explaining what he learned in making this record. “You had better pay attention to what you really have in your heart.”
- The Montreal Gazette


"My id gets serious guitar boost"

My ID Project featuring James Blood Ulmer at Lula Lounge (1585 Dundas West), tonight (Thursday September 30). $30. 416-588-0307

Jamaican-born percussionist Aubrey Dayle spent his teenage years in Montreal basking in the inspirational rays of Rush drummer Neil Peart.

It was up to his sister Charmaine to broaden the greenhorn's perspective on which percussionists truly deserved his attention.

"She bought me a Max Roach/Anthony Braxton record," the virtuoso chuckles over the phone from his Oshawa crib. "I put that on and was like, 'What is that?"

"I'd put it away for six or seven months when she got me a Ralph MacDonald record. That was more accessible, and I was like, 'Wow, that's percussion?" It was really Charmaine who got me listening and put me on this non-commercial path."

Charmaine died of cancer just 10 days after Dayle experienced 9/11 in New York, forcing him to bare his emotions by releasing his stored musical energy in the studio. He'd been a stellar freelance session player with Peter Gabriel and others before then.

His solo My ID Project album is a global tour de funk concocted with famed guitarists Vernon Reid and Ron Jackson, Gnawan vocal powerhouse and long-time Dayle collaborator Hassan Hakmoun and the legendary James Blood Ulmer, who'll join him and Jackson onstage this week.

"There's definitely a world music feel to My ID," says Dayle. "The first track has a West African zouk quality with a bala rhythm (short for balafon, a West African percussion instrument). I touch on reggae and even bring in a classical string quartet at one point. I really reached into everything that inspires me."

After Charmaine helped open his ears as a teen, Dayle absorbed classical drumming at the McGill Conservatory of Music, getting better acquainted with his new pals timpani, xylophone, hand drum, snare drum, mallets, marimba and vibraphone. But classical was never really his bag.

"I could play the parts and learn the repertoire and do everything," he says, "but you could tell my heart wasn"t in that world. It was like, 'Yeah, he sure has great chops, he sure can do it, but he's not really feelin' this, is he?'"

Dayle came into his own after moving to New York City's Staten Island at his wife's prompting, to study at the Manhattan School of Music. He toured across the States and Europe as a back-up musician , eventually landing a session at enigmatic "harmolodic" jazz guitar virtuoso Ulmer's New York loft.

"We went to Blood's loft and played through the music we'd been given," Dayle reminisces. "All Blood said, in his kind of sheepish way, was, 'W-w-will you play with me?" I"ve kind of been playing with him for 12 years."

But not exclusively. In fact, remaining a free agent was one of the best things Ulmer taught Dayle. The other was the importance of getting his own project out.

"He said, 'Do not think that you can just sit here and play with people and let that be the end of the story." He's always encouraged me to get my project out, even before I was ready."

The new disc addresses perceptions about being black in Canada and the issue of HIV/AIDS. Dayle's sister Janice is a healthy, headstrong long-time survivor.

"Janice does a spoken-word thing over a drum solo on the record addressing the need for HIV-positive and AIDS-afflicted people to really stand up and not be pitied or seen as these dying-off creatures. They're not," he asserts. "They are if they think they are, but they're not in truth."

It seems that, through all the pain, Dayle feels relieved to let it out raw.

"You come out of that schooled mentality where everything has to be played just so or it's bullshit," he laughs. "No. It doesn"t work like that. Thank god."

- Now Magazine


Discography

My id: Featuring Aubrey Dayle(AJKE-191992)

Vernon Reid: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Ron Jackson: guitar
Jim Chapdelaine: guitar
Oteil Burbridge: bass
Damon Banks: bass
Mark Peterson: bass
Nicki Parrott: bass
Hassan Hakmoun: sintir,perc
Brahim Fribgane: dumbek, oud
Jamshied Sharifi: Keys
Jason Crosby: Violin,Viola
Craig Rivers: Sax



Selected discography as a side man

Blues & Grass: The 52ND Street Blues Project (Chesky-JD279))

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer:guitar
Aubrey Dayle: Drums
Charlie Burnham: Violin
Mark Peterson: bass
Queen Esther: Vocals


Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions (Grammy Nominated) (LabelM495728)

James ‘Blood’ Ulme: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: Drums
Charlie Burnham: Violin
Mark Peterson: bass
Vernon Reid: guitar
David Barnes: Harmonica
Rick Steff: Keys


No Escape for the Blues: The Electric Lady sessions (Hyena TMF9312)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: Drums
Charlie Burnham: Violin
Mark Peterson: bass
Vernon Reid: guitar
David Barnes: Harmonica
Rick Steff: Keys

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: Music Speaks Louder Than Words (DIW-910)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Rashied Ali: drums
Calvin “Hassen Truth” Jones: bass
Amin Ali: bass
Michael Mustafa Ulmer: Keys



James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: Live at the Bayerischer hof (IOR 77018-2)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Amin Ali: bass

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: Blues Preacher (DIW-869)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Mark Peterson: bass
Ronald Drayton: guitar
Irene Datcher: Vocals
Delmar Brown: Keys
William “Spaceman” Paterson: Keboards

God Street Wine: Featuring Aubrey Dayle (AJKE-191992)

Aaron Maxwell: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Lo Faber: guitar
John Bevo: guitar
Dan Pifer: bass
Oteil Burbridge: bass
Peter Levin: keys

Lo Faber: The Friday Night Freak Show (LF)

Tom Pirozzi: bass
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Lo Faber: Guitar.
David Eggar: Cello
Jordan Katz: trumpet
Werner Dikel: violin, viola
Kenny Lehman: Tenor sax
Brian Kaplan: trombone

Joel Goodman: Music for film II scores & themes (0316)

Joel goodman: Composer/ Producer
Aubrey Dayle: drums

Hassan Hakmoun:The Gift (Triloka 7930185228-2)

Hassan Hakmoun: sintir
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Paula Cole: vocals
Brahim Fribgane guitar
Jamsheid Sharifi: Keys
Ron McBee: Percussion
Various Moroccan: musicians

Neo bass Project: Basscream (PVCP-9104)
Hassan Hakmoun: Composer/ Producer
Aubrey Dayle: Drums/Co-production



Gwen Laster: Hear You Smiling (GL)

Gwen Laster: Violin,vocals
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Carlton Holmes: Keys
Damon Banks: bass

Mahogany Soul: Angie Stone (j Records 80813-20013-2)
Angie Stone: vocals, Percussion
Aubrey Dayle: percussion
EranTabib: programming, guitar

Perspectives: A compilation of Montreal Jazz (PR880318-1)

Fady Karam: Guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Bill Mahar: trumpet
Paul Shewchck: bass

Dr. Ernest Ranglin: ‘Ska Wey Dat’ (Trojan 06076-80405-2)

Ernest Ranglin: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Cedric ‘Im’ Brooks: tenor sax
Andy Basford: guitar
Leroy Guy : bass
Kim Miller: vocals

Lonnie Plaxico: Short Takes (Muse MCD 5477)

Lonnie Plaxico: bass, synth bass,
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Carla cook: vocals
Naruko Naara: synthesizer
Kenneth Davis: bass
Gene Jackson: drum programming
Mike Cain : Keys
David Gilmore: Guitar
David Lee Jones: Saxophones
David Binney: soprano saxophones
Gregg Osby: Alto soxophones

The New York Metro Mass Choir: The sound of inspiration (mmchoir)

David Brown: director
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Jeffery Klitz : accompanist
William Stein: keyboards
Jordan Katz: trumpet
Gene Torres: organ

Sistashree: High Places (SISTA 4961)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer guitar, flute, dialogue
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Mark Peterson: bass
Earl Davis : trumpet
Mystic Fiddle: Background vocals

Bill White: 350 Project

Bill White: guitar
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Damon Banks: bass
Carlton Holms: Keys
Norman Hedman: percussion
Craig Rivers: Saxophones

Tony white: Tony White (Blue Orchid BO2003)

Tony White: saxophones
Aubrey Dayle: drums
Karl McNeil: bass
Barry Sames: Keys
Noel Clinton: percussion
Carlyle Barriteau: guitar

Photos

Bio

Aubrey Dayle was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He immigrated to Canada with his family, and was raised in Montreal. He began playing the accordion at age 5 and from there learned to play the piano. By the age of 13, Aubrey had developed an interest in the percussive arts and decided to devote his talents to mastering them. His efforts paid off and a decade later, he was performing and collaborating with some of the best musicians on the planet.

While in Canada, Aubrey finished a Bachelor of Music degree in classical percussion performance at McGill University. He performed in both the Vanier and the award winning McGill Percussion Ensembles. Aubrey also began his professional career during this period, performing on both jazz and classical radio broadcasts for the CBC, and touring throughout Eastern Canada.

Soon after, Aubrey graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. It was at this time he became fully committed to his development as both a drummer and a composer. He also started to tour extensively with James 'Blood' Ulmer and Hassan Hakmoun. The James 'Blood' Ulmer Blues Experience toured the globe playing mostly jazz and blues festivals. Hassan Hakmoun and Zahar played mostly World music and rock festivals. The latter ensemble also performed at "Woodstock '94" and was the warm-up group for several of singer Peter Gabriel's concerts during his Secret World and Womad tours.

Aubrey has continued to perform in varied situations. He has toured the United States extensively with the jam band rock groups God Street Wine and The John Popper Band. He appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "The Late Show with David Letterman", and the "Roseanne Show" with the John Popper Band in support of John Popper's solo album entitled “Zygote”. Aubrey has recorded and toured with Vernon Reid on the Grammy nominated CD project called “Memphis 'Blood' The Sun sessions featuring James 'Blood' Ulmer”. Most recently, Aubrey has recorded another CD with Memphis ‘Blood’ in New York City’s famous Electric Lady Studio call “No escape from the Blues”, and a Live CD with Ernest Ranglin Called “Ska We’.

Many high profile artists have worked and played with Aubrey since he became a New York-based freelance musician. His diverse experience has allowed him to perform with Garland Jeffreys, Sam Rivers, Sonny Rollins, Peter Gabriel, David Murray, Chico Freeman and Ernest Ranglin among many others. He has also worked on “Bring In Da Noize, Bring In Da Funk” as a Broadway musician

Aubrey’s discography includes Angie Stone’s Mahogany Soul, God Street Wine’s Good To The Last Drop and Hassan Hakmoun’s most recent CD called The Gift. He has also performed on several television broadcasts in the United States and Europe. Aubrey is currently working with musicians in Canada and the United States to tour in support of his solo CD project called My id. It is on the My id project that Aubrey combines his influences in jazz, rock and world beat and truly stakes his claim as an artist of the 21st century.
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