Ashley Maher is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has meshed the rhythmic impulses of West Africa and Latin America with Western song structures.

Biography

Ashley Maher was born to British parents in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec, Canada, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of five. Her parents encouraged her singing from an early age, and she tried out many styles, including

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, choral and medieval music. She even studied opera for a year in Italy. The turning point was a chance visit to a class in African music at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

held by C.K. Ladzekpo, a master drummer from

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. An instant convert to West African rhythms, she studied with him for two years before finishing her degree and moving to London. In London, Maher performed with an Afro-pop band for two years before making her first demo tape, featuring her intricate vocals woven with Ghanaian drumming. The demo soon led to her signing a contract with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

and Virgin released her first two albums: ''Hi'' and ''Pomegranate''. Both received excellent reviews worldwide. When

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

bought Virgin Records, Maher left the label and went on to independently record a third CD, ''The Blessed Rain'', in Paris and London with West African musicians. After completing ''The Blessed Rain'', Maher moved back to Los Angeles to continue her career. She has performed extensively and opened for major world music icons like

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Biography Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...

Baaba Maal Baaba Maal ( ff, 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤢 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤, italics=no, born 13 June 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several al ...

Vusi Mahlasela Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane (born 1965 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a Sotho South African singer-songwriter. His music is generally described as "African folk" and he is often dubbed as "The Voice" of South Africa. His work was an inspi ...

Orchestra Baobab Orchestra Baobab is a Senegalese band established in 1970 as the house band of the Baobab Club in Dakar. Many of the band's original members had previously played with Star Band de Dakar in the 1960s. Directed by '' timbalero'' and vocalist Balla ...

Zap Mama Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Zap Mama sings polyphonic and afro-pop music, a harmonic music with a mixture of infused African vocal techniques, urban, hip hop with emphasis on voice. The worldwide success of Zap Ma ...

, and Dobet Gnahore. Maher released a fourth CD, ''Flying Over Bridges'', in 2006. Produced by

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

's Andre Manga, it features world/jazz musicians from Los Angeles as well a guest appearances by

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

's guitarist Jimi Mbaye and Cameroonian saxophone legend, Manu Dibango, who also co-wrote the song "Club Dibango and the Rising Son". Maher co-wrote a song called "Boul Bayekou" for

's 2006 Senegalese release ''Alsaama Day'' and his international CD ''Rokku Mi Rokka''. In April 2008, N'Dour flew Maher to Dakar, Senegal, to rehearse with his group as a dancer for two weeks. She then performed with Youssou N'Dour and Les Super Etoiles de Dakar for two large shows: first at the Sorano Theater in Dakar and then in front of 15,000 at Paris' Bercy Arena. Since this time, online videos of Maher dancing sabar (a complex dance of Senegal's

Wolof people The Wolof people () are a West African ethnic group found in northwestern Senegal, the Gambia, and southwestern coastal Mauritania. In Senegal, the Wolof are the largest ethnic group (~43.3%), while elsewhere they are a minority. They refer to ...

) have been viewed by over half a million people. Maher spent September 2008 in Dakar, Senegal, recording her fifth CD, ''Amina,'' with key members of Youssou N'Dour's band, Les Super Etoiles. She spent 2009 completing the CD (with Andre Manga again producing) and touring England, Scotland, and Spain. In 2010, Maher returned to Dakar to promote ''Amina''. She opened for Orchestra Baobab, did many interviews for radio, TV, and press, and filmed her second video from the record. Since then, she has divided her time between Dakar and Los Angeles, recording and performing with her all-star Senegalese band, while continuing to perform in the US with her Los Angeles-based musicians. In Senegal, Maher recorded, video-ed, and released two further singles: "On Dit Merci," and "Soon".

Discography

Albums

* ''Hi'', Virgin Records (CDV 2611), 1990 * ''Pomegranate'', Virgin Records (CDV 2687), 1992 * ''The Blessed Rain'', Spin Wild Records (swcd 001), 1997 * ''Flying Over Bridges'', Spin Wild Records (swcd 03), 2006 * ''Amina'', Spin Wild Records (swcd 004), 2010

Singles

* "Dreaming re-dreaming" / "Step by Step", Virgin Records (VS 1253), 1990 * "Step by Step", Virgin Records (VSCDT 1253), 1990 * "So Many Times", Virgin Records (VSCDT 1287), 1990 * "Laughter in the Rain", Virgin Records (VSCDT 1385), 1991 * "Stumbling Block", Virgin Records (VSCDT 1409), 1992 * "Try to Hide", Spin Wild Records, 2009 * "Small Boats", Spin Wild Records, 2010 * "On Dit Merci", Spin Wild Records, 2010 * "Soon", Spin Wild Records, 2011

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Ashley American women singer-songwriters American singer-songwriters Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women