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Ezra Collective
Femi Koleoso at the 2017 Jazz Manor Festival in Sochi, Russia.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Jazz hip hop Afrobeat
Instruments	Drums keyboards bass tenor saxophone trumpet
Years active	2016–present
Labels	Enter the Jungle Partisan Records
Members	Femi Koleoso TJ Koleoso Ife Ogunjobi James Mollison Joe Armon-Jones
Past members	Dylan Jones
Website	ezracollective.com

Ezra Collective are a British 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 group fuses elements of afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, soul and jazz, and frequently collaborates with fellow London-based jazz musicians such as Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd. They are the recipients of the 2023 Mercury Music Prize.

Background

The London based quintet formed in 2012 by brothers Femi Koleoso (drums) and TJ Koleoso (electric bass), together with James Mollison (sax), Joe Armon-Jones (keyboards) and Dylan Jones (trumpet). Jones has since been replaced by Ife Ogunjobi. The members of Ezra Collective met at the jazz programme Tomorrow's Warriors, run by Gary Crosby. The jazz group has claimed that they faced challenges in succeeding as young jazz musicians in London, with Femi Koleoso saying: "I saw jazz music as an elite art form that I didn't have access to." He puts down the group's success as being able to freely express their musical influences from their youth. The band has said that Robert Glasper, and Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly provided early inspiration for their "template" as a jazz band.

Career

The band's 2019 instrumental single "Quest for Coin" was premiered as the "Hottest Record in The World" on Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. In 2019, Ezra Collective released their debut LP You Can't Steal My Joy, which featured British musicians Jorja Smith and Loyle Carner. In 2022, the band released its second LP, Where I'm Meant to Be, involving a mix of both instrumental tracks and lyrical collaborations. Critical reception was widely positive, with Kate Hutchinson from The Guardian writing that the "exceptional album could be the one to cross over to the big league".

On 3 March 2023, it was announced that Ezra Collective would be performing at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival.

On 7 September 2023, the band won the 2023 Mercury Prize for their album Where I'm Meant To Be, making them the first jazz act to win the award in its 31-year history. Following the announcement, Femi Koleoso highlighted the band's youthful origins, saying: "This moment we're celebrating right here is testimony to good, special people putting time and effort into young people to play music.… let's continue to support that."

Alexis Petridis lauded the winning album by saying that Where I'm Meant To Be "stirs together Afro-Cuban rhythms and post-bop with rap – both Sampa the Great and 2022 Mercury nominee Kojey Radical are among the guests – dub, funk and dance music and transforms Sun Ra's Love In Outer Space into slick jazz-inflected soul with a vocal by the singer Nao, another former Mercury nominee. It's an album where the influence of spiritual jazz coexists with Afrobeat; it successfully captures the band's live energy, its kinetic power never dipping despite its 70-minute running time. It's approachable and celebratory without in any way seeming lightweight or drifting too far from the band's roots: an album that people who don't normally consider themselves jazz fans might fall for, but still resolutely a jazz album."

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

• Chapter 7 (2016)
• Juan Pablo: The Philosopher (2018)

Singles

• "Samuel L Riddim" (2018)
• "Reason in Disguise" (2018)
• "Chris and Jane" (2019)
• "Footprints" (2020)
• "Dark Side Riddim" (2020)
• "Quest for Coin II" (2020)
• "More Than a Hustler" (2021)
• "May the Funk Be with You" (2022)
• "Lady" (2023)
• "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (2023)
• "God Gave Me Feet for Dancing" (2024)
• "Streets Is Calling" (2024)

Awards and nominations

References

1. Madden, Sidney. "Ezra Collective Sets The 'Quest For Coin' To A Fast-Paced Jazz Soundtrack". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
2. Kalia, Ammar. "Ezra Collective: You Can't Steal My Joy review – celebration of jazz's diversity". theguardian.com/. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
3. Hutchinson, Kate (19 October 2018). "A Sweaty Night Out in London's New Jazz Scene". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
4. ^ Vinti, Mike (4 April 2019). "As everyone gets hooked on jazz, Ezra Collective are the group most locked into a groove". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
5. Hutchinson, Kate (19 October 2018). "A Sweaty Night Out in London's New Jazz Scene". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
6. Segev, Tom (29 April 2019). "Review: Ezra Collective's 'You Can't Steal My Joy' Is A UK Jazz Delight". Complex. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
7. Hutchinson, Kate (6 November 2022). "Ezra Collective: Where I'm Meant to Be review – brilliant follow-up from the inventive party band". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
8. Interviews, Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews &; ClashMusic (3 November 2022). "Ezra Collective - Where I'm Meant to Be | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 7 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Jenkins, Dafydd. "Ezra Collective - Where I'm Meant to Be - Review". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
10. "Glastonbury Festival 2023: Full line-up, tickets and how to watch". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
11. ^ "Ezra Collective win Mercury Music Prize 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
12. "Ezra Collective Win The Mercury Prize 2023!". BBC Music. 7 September 2023.
13. Nugent, Annabel; Roisin O'Connor (7 September 2023). "Mercury Prize: Ezra Collective become first jazz act to win in award's 31-year history". The Independent.
14. Muir, Hugh (8 September 2023). "Take the vitality of diverse Britain, set it to music. That's why Ezra Collective deserve their Mercury prize". The Guardian.
15. Murray, Robin (8 September 2023). "Ezra Collective's Mercury Win Highlights The Need For Cultural Investment". Clash. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
16. Petridis, Alexis (7 September 2023). "Ezra Collective's Mercury win finally acknowledges a golden age for UK jazz". The Guardian.
17. "EZRA COLLECTIVE – Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
18. "MOBO Awards 2022 | MOBO Organisation". www.mobo.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
19. Snapes, Laura (27 July 2023). "Mercury Prize 2023: Arctic Monkeys tie Radiohead's record for most nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
20. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Vinter, Robyn (7 February 2024). "MOBO Awards 2024: Central Cee tops winners thanks to megahit". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

• 2016 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Afrobeat musical groups
• English funk musical groups
• English hip-hop groups
• English jazz ensembles
• English musical quintets
• Musical groups established in 2016
• Musical groups from London
• Partisan Records artists
• Tomorrow's Warriors alumni