Ezra Collective performing at Wembley Arena, London. Image by Tim Sandle.
Ezra Collective are one of the hottest and most innovative bands in Britain. The London-originating band, who fuse jazz, funk and soul, became the first jazz band to win the prestigious Mercury Music Award in 2023 (for their second album ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’). The band have just completed an international tour, culminating in London. Attending for Digital Journal, I was captivated by the joy and the groove.
Ezra Collective are a jazz quintet composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison. The band met each other in a youth club, at an event designed to encourage young musicians.
The group is named after the prophet Ezra, who is a figure mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament in Christian traditions).
To close out their 2024 tour, the band played their biggest venue to date – Wembley Arena, packing out the venue’s 10,000 capacity.
The tour coincided with the release of the group’s third album – ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’. This is a simple, yet vital message – dancing is a joyful experience and if you want to dance, just dance.
The concert frequently took unexpected twists as the jazz basis was continually mixed and fused with elements of afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, and soul. This is accessible jazz – a metling pot of new ideas – and often a for of jazz that is played to many who don’t realise they are listening to a jazz band.
Among the tunes played was ‘Ajala’, taken from the new album. This number is a reference to a Nigerian slang term for someone who cannot sit still.
Another tremendous track was ‘Streets Is Calling’ (the album version features artists Moonchild Sanelly and M.anifest). As each track blended into another, there seldom seemed to be a pause in the music.
Largely instrumental, there were two occasions when the music was supplemented by two hip-hop artists, but overall the concert focuses on the band, showcasig each musician’s talent in turn. Throughout every track the crowd rocked in a constant state of motion, moving seamlessly with the band’s music. This is not something I’d seen on such a sustained scale, across the 100 minute set.
This was a set high on audience participation, such as encouraging the crowd in the standing-only area to move apart and form dance circles; at other times the audience was encouraged to jump, wave their arms, crouch down low and move upwards, each with the theme of promoting “joy” among the concert goers.
The audience were energised and joyful because the band were likewise excited and they frequently darted around the stage, jumped and danced, and laughed together.
There was no encore – this would have broken the dynamic – but the event ended with a joyful jazz-funk extended version.
Ezra Collective deliver big sound, big tunes, and the most danceable form of modern jazz you’ll hear. Keep dancing like no one’s watching.