Ashley Maher
Flying Over Bridges
© 2005 Ashley Maher (707801730326)
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Imagine Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon has a daughter who grows up in Senegal. Ashley's 4th album is an uplifting, shimmering brew of glorious vocals and moving song-stories, musically celebrated by LA's finest from Cameroon, Senegal, Brazil, Uruguay
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Ashley *Maher is a fresh voice in global music. Like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, and Sting, her music fuses singer-songwriter sensibilities with the rhythms and textures of West Africa and Latin America. Like Sade, she flavors her beautiful melodies with jazz. Like India Arie, her music is uplifting and true.
Ashley's fourth album, "Flying Over Bridges," is here at last! Produced by brilliant Cameroonian producer/bassist Andre Manga, it features world class musicians from Cameroon, Senegal, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, and the USA: rich, rhythmic, uplifting world/folk/jazz, intricately woven with Ashley's glorious voice and the lyrics of a true poet.
This past summer, Ashley was invited to open for two of Africa's finest artists. In June, she opened for Senegal's BAABA MAAL at Los Angeles' Knitting Factory. In August, 7000 people gave her a standing ovation when she opened for Malian superstar SALIF KEITA on the Santa Monica Pier with a full band and West African dancers.
Now, the bio bit: born to British parents in Canada, Ashley grew up in Los Angeles, singing everything imaginable. She studied opera in Italy for a year before returning to UC Berkeley and falling in love with African music. Stumbling upon a class by Ghanaian master drummer, C.K. Ladzekpo, Ashley knew in that instant that she had found her calling. She studied with him for two years, graduated, and headed to London in search of African music.
London was alive with global music. Ashley performed with an Afro-jazz band for two years before collaborating with England's premier African dance and drumming group, Adzido, for her first demos. The tape came to the attention of the record companies and she signed a contract with Virgin UK.
Virgin released two records for Ashley. The first, named "hi," was met with critical acclaim and hailed as an extraordinary debut. The second, "Pomegranate," featured a superb selection of Paris-based African musicians and again received radiant reviews. Said Nick Coleman of "Time Out,"
"Her tunes are almost indecently luxurious, the playing exquisite, and the arrangements as full of subtlety as you could wish ... hers is a golden world, in which words are garlands, voices are a glow and drums ... well, you know what they say about the drums."
Since then, Ashley has continued to develop as a solo artist. She recorded and performed in London, Paris, and L.A., sang as a backing vocalist on records by Youssou NDour and The Afro-Celt Soundsystem, and performed as a dancer for many African dance troupes. Ashley recorded her third CD, "The Blessed Rain" with the same brilliant musicians as Pomegranate. Acoustic and earthy, "The Blessed Rain" has been rapturously received around the world by her fans.
Ashley relocated her family to Los Angeles to care for her mother when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After her mother's passing, she has been actively building her career, Stateside. Collaborating with LA's best African/Latin musicians, dancers, and drummers, she has been thrilled to find American audiences responding enthusiastically to her international band's shimmering performances.
Check out Flying Over Bridges and enjoy....enJOY!
reviews
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A Perfect Soundtrack for Summer
author: Adam KimmelWe've been having a hot, dry summer here in England, unusually warm with blazing blue skies for days on end. One such day found me reclining in the garden, sipping at a glass of iced Pimms and giving Flying Over Bridges a spin. Being an entrenched Westerner, World Music is quite lost on me. And yet, somehow, once the music started floating out into the hot, jasmine-scented air, it all clicked. The sun, the sky, and this wonderful, lightly tripping, lilting music with its global rhythms and Ashley's glorious, soaring voice, all combined to make the perfect summer's day. Sure, the Pimms helped, but the music really set the tone. There's a lovely, jazzy looseness to it all, underpinned by some glorious drumming and percussive piano playing, and Ashley's voice has never sounded better. Make your summer a special one and make Flying Over Bridges its soundtrack: it's just perfect for it.
Fascinating, Powerful
author: Ben Smith, XM Satellite RadioAshley is fascinating, powerful, and everything the world needs!
HUGE star!
author: Roz Larman, Folkscene syndicated radioAshley Maher should be a HUGE star!
If my apartment was on fire, I'd grab this CD!
author: Katherine WesslingAshley Maher's "Flying Over Bridges" is the CD that I would grab if my apartment were on fire. Not only does it lift my spirits and reconnect me to myself and this beautiful, difficult world, but Maher's music and lyrics link worlds--musical styles, countries, cultures. Her clear-as-a-bell Joni Mitchell-esque voice weaves in and out of various world rhythms as she tells tales of transformation, migration, family, darkness and light. The many faces of love are addressed here, ranging far beyond songs of romance. My favorite, “Gracefully,” written about her mother’s struggle with cancer, shines with deep love and, yes, grace. Maher seems to have a direct pipeline into the truth, and she’s aided here by master musicians from Africa, South America and the USA. Uncategorizable, her music is a delicious mixture of folk, world, jazz and pop. I’ve followed Maher’s work for years, grasping like a drowning woman onto each new album. “Flying Over Bridges” is my favorite thus far. It helps give me the faith and the trust and the love to go forward each day, and it makes me exceedingly glad to be alive.
Magical!
author: Johnny Mindlin - yes again!You know how you go to particular Italian restaurant because they make better tiramisu than anyone else? They get the consistency just right and the level of intoxication from the alcoholic ingredients is at just the right balance, so when you take the first mouthful you can't help but close your eyes and say "Mmm THAT'S how it's supposed to be!". Well I put on Flying Over Bridges and in the first song's chorus, Ashley's voice settles on that low A with the word Home and I think "Mmm yes, THAT's how it should be"! If she could sing just one note, that low A is it for me. So I listened on and in track 3 I'm sitting there getting into the groove and enjoying it and I think to myself "That's some seriously good drumming - just the right placing and complexity." So I look and OH MY GOD!! It's Vinnie Colaiuta!! I mean VINNIE COLAIUTA!!!! W O W!!!!!!!!!! (I'm a drummer, so he is, like, well not God exactly, but one of those musicians I would shake hands with just so I could not wash for a week! (kidding, but only just)). That kind of distracted me for a track or two so I went back and listened again. The imagery in Ashley's lyrics is magical; the poetry leads you on - you can either just let it wash and follow the images in a Cézanne impressionistic way, or pay them the attention they deserve and they deliver on the promise, bringing ideas and feelings that go beyond the music. It made me think. I love it.
luxurious ... exquisite ... Splendid! ... brilliant
author: ColinI well and truly enjoyed listening to both albums ''Flying Over Bridges'' and ''The Blessed Rain." I could hear a lot of Joni Mitchell's sound and Paul Simon's Graceland from 1986. I will give both 10 out of 10. Why? Because I find the tunes quite luxurious, the playing exquisite, and the arrangements as full of subtlety as one could wish. Your vocals flow over the drums and percussions like fishes in a clear lake. Splendid! I would dearly love to see you and the band live sometime in the near future. However I can only stress more how brilliant both albums are I also think that they're a must in everyone's CD collection.
Genius.
author: Johnny MindlinOne of the things I love ... is the mix of complex, driving rhythm, under a clear, simple, but beautiful melody line, combined with those gorgeous harmonies. I visualise the combination like an intricate Persian carpet with a garden design, from which the vines and flowers are growing into the room and morphing into glass ... it's like you take the monophonic tradition of European music and the call-response tradition from Africa and land somewhere between - keeping touch with both sides. Genius.
Wow, What a refreshing change
author: Kerry ByrneI have only recently had the pleasure of listening to Ashley thanks to Colin my brother. I can't stop playing this CD, i thought Blessed rain was brill, but this CD has surpassed it. I find the Jazz influence in the music exciting and refreshing. The mixture of african drumns and jazz work so well. Truely amazing
Best yet!
author: Richie LongTruly magnifcent, her voice gets stonger and her lyrics even better with every record!!Just buy it!!!!
One of the most captivating voices ever recorded.
author: John OakeyOne of the most captivating voices ever recorded.
I am speechless. It's brilliant
author: Tony CornishI am speechless. It's brilliant.
... positive, multi-faceted, and full
author: Nita RothfieldYour songs touch on so many levels of life and experience, and all so positive, multi-faceted, and full.
my spirit simply lifted right up ...
author: Ian Radburn… thanks for your superb new album. The timing of its arrival was perfect. I had had a very busy and stressful day. I came home to find the CD in the mail. Into the kitchen I went to cook the evening meal, feeling tired and miserable. I popped your CD into the player and after the first few bars my spirit simply lifted right up. Within two minutes I was smiling and dancing round the kitchen. My daughter came in and said, “You're in a happy mood dad, did you have a good day?” I laughed out loud and all my troubles disappeared for the night. Bless you Ashley!
very healing stuff
author: Kris HodgesI do love your music ... very healing stuff ... what a crew of players!!!
it is so nice to hear ‘real’ music nowadays
author: Peter, UKI bought Ashley’s first 2 albums in 1990 and 1992, and then heard nothing………I stumbled across her website a few weeks ago and now am the proud owner of her 2 latest cd’s. It has definitely been worth the 14 year wait! Both albums are incredible - it is so nice to hear ‘real’ music nowadays. This album is a wonderful blend of musical styles, more jazzy than her earlier albums. It has a great ‘warm’ feel to it - will brighten your mood if you are feeling low. The drums and rhythms perfectly compliment Ashley’s vocals and the lyrics have meaning, unlike much of today’s music. My favourites so far - ‘One’ and ‘Gracefully’.
should appeal to all Joni Mitchell fans
author: Eric van Domburg Scipio, editor, Heaven Magazine"… a pop/singer-songwriter album that should appeal to all Joni Mitchell fans, especially as she hasn't made an album this good since '79."
as if purified sunlight started spilling out of the car stereo's speakers ...
author: Anthony KoskyWhen you've been waiting for something for years, it's a neat feeling to find it was worth the wait. Ashley Maher's new album arrived in the mail today. The mail arrived just as my fiance and I were leaving to head into the city, so I grabbed the package to unwrap in the car and feed into the car's cd player as we headed over the Bay Bridge. It was as if purified sunlight started spilling out of the car stereo's speakers. The feeling was amazing: it was a gorgeous autumn day, with sail boats on the bay and San Francisco free of the usual fog, and the music was just magical. I'm currently on my second listen. First impressions are that there are stronger latin and jazz influences, compared with The Blessed Rain, as well as the strong African influences. The vocal arrangements are simple, especially compared to Ashley's early work, and her voice and lyrics shine through. Instrumentally and rhythmically, though, the music seems complex, and I suspect will take many listens before I can take it all in. Which is fine, because I think I'll be listening to this album A LOT.
"Taxi" brings back fond memories of Joni Mitchell's jazz phase ... a lively, del
author: Sophia GurleyA range of styles here: there's always the strong world background of African-favoured rhythms, drums, and harmonies, but there are moments with a full-band sound; however, one of my favourite tracks, "Seven" is just vocals, single and layered, and sabar drums to back them. Lovely. There's also a strong, lively jazz feel to several tracks, especially the charming end to "entwining trees". "Taxi" brings back fond memories of Joni Mitchell's jazz phase. All is guided by Ashley Maher's clear, expressive voice. This is a lively, delightful album.
"Taxi" brings back fond memories of Joni Mitchell's jazz phase ... a lively, del
author: Sophia GurleyA range of styles here: there's always the strong world background of African-favoured rhythms, drums, and harmonies, but there are moments with a full-band sound; however, one of my favourite tracks, "Seven" is just vocals, single and layered, and sabar drums to back them. Lovely. There's also a strong, lively jazz feel to several tracks, especially the charming end to "entwining trees". "Taxi" brings back fond memories of Joni Mitchell's jazz phase. All is guided by Ashley Maher's clear, expressive voice. This is a lively, delightful album.
part of your life
author: Ronald de HooghIf you like female singers, African music and pop music in general, then when you discover Ashley Maher's music, it will become a part of your life and stay that way. Great music and unique voice/singing.
Multi layered - each layer wonderful !
author: Dave's OpinionThe worst thing about an Ashley Maher release - the sheer infrequency! The great thing about an Ashley Maher release is that it won't disappoint because you can hear the care and love which has obviously gone into it. The only mystery to me is why she isn't better known...
Wonderful new album from Ashley Maher
author: Colin SharmanI have played the 4th album from Ashely Maher, Flying Over Bridges almost non-stop since receiving it. It is a wonderful album, and well worth the long wait since 1997's The Blessed Rain. Flying Over Bridges contains a rich tapestry of musical styles, from African poly-rhythms through contemporary jazz and all the way to World music and folk music. I particularly love the tracks, lucky, distant sister moon, entwining trees, lift your heels, and especially learning to fly and gracefully, which are both deeply moving and strangely uplifting at the same time. In short I love all of the tracks on this album and can throuroghly recommend it as an essential purchase for any music collection. It is unmistakeable that there is more of a jazzy influence on this album compared to the previous albums, along with Ashley's trademark mix of african rhythms and western folk. I truly believe that this creates a unique category of music, going far beyond being simply classified as world music, or rock music, so maybe we should now have a music category simply called 'Ashley Maher'!
Stellar vocals and lyrics will inspire you.
author: S. LasherOn this CD, Ashley's voice is at its best. Acoustic intensity -- check out "seven"; jazz virtuosity -- check out "club dibango"; unique fusion of harmony and rhythm -- check out "lucky" and "taxi" and "tilda." I've been listening to this CD in my car on my frequent long drives, and always find something new to inspire me, to trigger thoughts and feelings for the day.
Yet more inspiring music from Ashley Maher
author: Chris BakerThe latest Ashley Maher album is as much a total joy as her previous 3. An intoxicating & unique blend of exotic rhythms from around the globe, memorable melodies, fabulous playing & arrangements, all topped off by that superlative voice. Whether solo, double-tracked or in heart-warming harmonies, it is truly an instrument of rare beauty & grace.The message is clear- buy this & improve your life.
An album to fly with
author: Roy & Lindsay PophamAn album you can fly yourself with...vocally, rhythmically, emotionally uplifting......and check out her back catalogue....no dissappointments!!!!
Ashley has never sounded better and how apt is the title!
author: Jan KielingIn a world where there is so much CRAPPY popular "music" being produced and sold to unsuspecting millions, you can't imagine how starved I am for GOOD music, not to mention unusual, unique, intelligent, emotionally authentic music. So when I first heard Ashley's Flying Over Bridges, I was stunned. Melody and rhythm work together seamlessly. Pure sounds flow out of the speakers from someone who writes meaningful lyrics and who can actually SING in a voice that is strong, clear as a bell, and frankly, transporting. Her new music is phenomenal as well as unpredictable. Ashley has matched thought-provoking lyrics with vocal complexity without using any tricks. She has the best musicians backing her along with great arrangements.... She has never sounded better. Buy this cd and get ready to soar. Blast it on your car cd changer with the windows down. Buy copies for your family and friends. Share the magic because she deserves to be heard.
Flying over Bridges with Ashley Maher.
author: Megan MulhollandWhat better moment...than that of anticipation...as I place ASHLEY'S new CD into my player and eagerly await the sweet honey soundz, new beats and unique positive message that satisfys immediately. Pure Joy!
Stop with the Joni comparisons, this is totally fresh and original!
author: Jeffrey EvansAshley Maher has created an album of music deeply infused with the rhythms and textures of World Beat, but in a style so unique and original it could become the foundation for a whole new genre of Jazz.
Genre: great music!
author: Issa KeitaAhsley's music defies categorization. This beautifully crafted CD is a testimony to her musical accomplishment. Listen to the intricate rhythms, and the delicately woven melodies and you’re transported into a world of wonderment. This is a must for any true music lover.
Flying Over Bridges Soars
author: John PolinskyI keep thinking that you have reached a plateau, that your music is so brillant, exciting, and beautiful, that it can't get any better, then it does... Flying Over Bridges soars to new stratospheres.
Glistening, multi-faceted, brilliant... like a finely cut diamond!!!
author: David ChunAshley and her impeccable group of musicians have created a glorious collection of songs, each one infused with such warmth, complexity and heartfelt joy, I couldn't help but feel enraptured upon listening to them. Check out this CD... you'll be thrilled by the discovery!
coool ass breeze after 7 rounds in a sweat...
author: salinayeah, the cd is like a cool ass breeze after 7 rounds in a sweat; the fire, the sweat, the heat all healing, but man, the feel of your soul once you walk out and feel the air...
Joyous airy and uplifting
author: Darren Alan YoungIf you don't have this CD in your collection BUY IT NOW!!! I'ts a fantastic CD, Ashley just sounds better with each CD release. If you like great music, you'll love this.