Of all the periodic events and “weeks” that take place in Milan, that of JazzMi (Sept. 29 to Oct. 6) is really one of the few not to be missed. It is a super cool format, which really manages to enchant you and improve you as a person.
Yesterday, Oct. 6, drumming star Yussef Dayes lit up the amphitheater of Milan’s Apple Piazza Liberty with a breathtaking live performance and in a location no less impressive, as Apple Music is a media partner of JazzMi. With a rocking lineup (especially for the most connoisseurs of jazz music made in the UK), Yussef proved once again that he is a cross-genre artist who can make any musician come back humble and thoughtful, perhaps because he has an English mother and Jamaican father and because he was raised with bread, jazz and reggae.

Having become an artist known to most through the album “What Kinda Music” (2020) with Tom Misch, he managed to impress the sold-out Apple Amphitheater with unique musicianship, playing on his instrument with impeccable dynamics and delivery. This was, of course, also due to the chemistry created with his accompanying musicians- Mali Venner on sax, Rocco Palladino on bass, and Elijah Fox on keyboards. These raised the live performance to an even higher quality, surprising the entire audience with complex, well-framed, well-orchestrated and above all (which is never a given) songs with a smile on their faces, all set in a context that tells of encounters and sonic transformations like JazzMi. In conclusion, it was hands down one of the most sincere and true concerts of the last 2 years.