Ashley Maher

Ashley Maher is a singer and songwriter who has meshedthe rhythmic impulses of West Africa and Latin America withWestern song structures.

Biography

Ashley Maher was born to British parents in Montreal, Canada, and moved to
Los Angeles at the age of five. Her parents encouraged her singingfrom an early age, and she tried out many styles, including jazz,
choral and medieval music. She even explored a possible career in classicalmusic during a year studying opera in Italy.

The turning point was a chance visit to a class in African music at
UC Berkeley held byC.K. Ladzekpo, a master drummer from Ghana. An instant convertto West African rhythms, she studied withhim for two years before finishing her degree and moving to
London.

In London, Ashley performed with an Afro-pop band for two years beforemaking her first demo tape, featuring her intricate vocals woven with Ghanaian drumming. The demo soon led to her signing acontract with Virgin Records and Virgin released her first twoalbums: "Hi" and "Pomegranate". Both received excellent reviews worldwide.

When EMI bought Virgin Records, Ashley left the label and went on to independently record a third CD," The Blessed Rain", in Paris and Londonwith top West African musicians.

Returning to Los Angeles shortly after completing "The Blessed Rain",Ashley has been building her career there ever since. She has performed extensively and opened for majorworld music icons like Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Vusi Mahlasela, Zap Mama, and Dobet Gnahore. Ashley released a fourth CD, "Flying Over Bridges" in 2006. Produced by Cameroon's Andre Manga, itfeatures some of the city's finest world/jazz musicians. Cameroonian saxophone legend,
Manu Dibango co-wrote the song "Club Dibango and the Rising Son" and Youssou N'Dour's guitarist Jimi Mbaye guests.

Ashley co-wrote a song called "Boul Bayekou" for Youssou N'Dour's 2007 Senegalese release "Alsaama Day"and his international CD "Rokku Mi Rokka". ("Boul Bayekou" is available only on ITunes in the USA.) In April 2008, Youssou flew Ashley to Dakar, Senegal, to rehearse with his group as a dancer for two weeks. She then performed with Youssou and Les Super Etoiles de Dakar for two huge shows: first at the Sorano Theater in Dakar and then in front of 20,000 at Bercy in Paris.

Ashley is currently in Los Angeles, recording her 5th CD, with Andre Manga again producing.

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

ingles

* "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

External links

* [http://www.ashleymaher.com Ashley Maher's Official Home Page]
* [http://ashleymaher.calabashmusic.com/ Calabash Music - Ashley Maher's music page]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ashleymaher MySpace - Ashley Maher's page]
* [http://www.ashleygoesglobal.blogspot.com/ Blogspot - Ashley Maher's Blog]
* [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ashley+maher&search= YouTube - Ashley Maher's videos]