biography |
ASHLEY MAHER (surname rhymes with “star”) is an original — a singer-composer-bandleader who lives in the industrial West yet is truly at home with African and other world music traditions. Her highly individual and infectious brand of world/folk/jazz has gained her an international following, four acclaimed albums, and performances with several major African icons. Ashley was born in Canada to British parents, but the family relocated to Los Angeles when she was five. Her gift for singing, in her mothers opinion a legacy from her Welsh grandmother, manifested early on. She grew up listening to a wide range of music, from Top 40 to classical and Brazilian styles, while singing jazz, choral and medieval music at school. Ashley began formal training at age sixteen and later concentrated on opera in Italy for a full year. But although her voice was well suited to the classical repertoire, her soul was not engaged by it. Then, while still an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, she happened upon on a class led by C.K. Ladzekpo, a master drummer from Ghana. “I felt as though I had been hit by lightening. Every cell in my body lit up like a candle!” Ashley remembers, “In that doorway, I had an epiphany telling me I had found my life path.” She studied with him for two years, feeling her way into expressing sounds and rhythms that felt uncannily natural to her from day one. Upon graduating from university, Ashley embarked upon a pilgrimage to London's flourishing global music scene. She joined a pan-African/jazz band, performing around town for two years while eagerly studying and collaborating with resident and touring African musicians. While Ashley cites Senegalese superstars Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal, Malian icon Salif Keita, the late Pakistani qawwali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Nigerian juju pioneer King Sunny Ade as artists who have most influenced her style, Western singer-songwriters like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Sting, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell have also proven inspirational. Ashleys first demos (recorded with Londons premier dance/drumming group, Adzido) reflected her inner creative duality, featuring Ghanaian drums interwoven with her trademark, scat-laced vocals and silky yet unexpected harmonies. These led to bids from five labels, and she ultimately signed with Virgin Records U.K. Virgin released a pair of well-received albums, “hi” (1990) and “Pomegranate” (1992), both of which solidified Ashley's reputation as an eclectic, protean and warmly inclusive musical thinker as well as a singer of rare empathy, artistry and skill. After Virgin was sold to EMI, Ashley left the label but continued to record and perform in Europe. She sang back up on recordings by Youssou N'Dour and the UK-based world-techno outfit, Afro-Celt Sound System. A remarkably adroit sabar and djembe dancer, she has also performed with several West African troupes. Her 2006 DVD, “Live”, which captures Ashley and her current band opening for Salif Keita, amply showcases this facet of her talents. Her third, independently produced CD, “The Blessed Rain” (1997), featured the same roster as “Pomegranate” and kept her fans on notice that hers was a continuing voyage of discovery. After twelve years in London, Ashley relocated to Los Angeles to nurse her mother through her final illness. Now based there, she is busy raising her two children while working with the citys finest West African and Latin musicians, dancers, and drummers. She recently completed her fourth CD, “Flying Over Bridges”, (2006), which was produced by Cameroons Andre Manga and features a stellar assembly of world/jazz players from that nation, Senegal, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and the USA. Recently, Youssou N'Dour released a song (Boul Bayekou) that Ashley co-wrote as track #1 on his new Senegalese CD, Alsaama Day. Aside from Salif Keita, Ashley has opened for Baaba Maal, Zap Mama, Vusi Mahlasela, and Dobet Gnahore. Wherever Ashley appears, whether with a large combo or in more intimate settings, audiences are enchanted by the soaring voice, ardent song-craft, nimble feet, swaying hips, and mesmerizing stage presence of an artist in her prime. As a British critic once said of her, “Today, Ashley's a cult figure for a discerning few. Tomorrow, perhaps, she'll be a heroine for millions.” biography by Christina Roden |