Ezra Collective | |
|---|---|
 Femi Koleoso at the 2017 Jazz Manor Festival inSochi, Russia. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels |
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| Members |
|
| Past members | Dylan Jones |
| Website | ezracollective |
Ezra Collective are a Britishjazz quintet composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardistJoe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison, who met at the jazz youth programmeTomorrow's Warriors and formed their group soon afterwards.[1] The group fuses elements ofafrobeat,calypso,reggae,hip-hop,soul andjazz, and frequently collaborates with fellowLondon-based jazz musicians such asNubya Garcia andMoses Boyd.[2][3] They were the recipients of the 2023Mercury Music Prize. Their 2024 single "God Gave Me Feet for Dancing" was chosen byBarack Obama for his list of 25 favourite songs of the year.[4][5] At theBrit Awards 2025, the Ezra Collective became the first jazz band to win the "Group of the Year" accolade.[6]
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 Jones has since been replaced by Ife Ogunjobi.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 programmeTomorrow's Warriors, run byGary Crosby.[7] 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."[8] He puts down the group's success as being able to freely express their musical influences from their youth. The band has said thatRobert Glasper, andKendrick Lamar'sTo Pimp a Butterfly provided early inspiration for their "template" as a jazz band.[7]
The band's 2019 instrumental single "Quest for Coin" was premiered as the "Hottest Record in The World" onAnnie Mac onBBC Radio 1.[7] In 2019, Ezra Collective released their debut LPYou Can't Steal My Joy, which featured British musiciansJorja Smith andLoyle Carner.[9] 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 fromThe Guardian writing that the "exceptional album could be the one to cross over to the big league".[10][11][12]
On 3 March 2023, it was announced that Ezra Collective would be performing at the2023 Glastonbury Festival.[13]
On 7 September 2023, the band won the 2023Mercury Prize for their albumWhere I'm Meant To Be,[14][15] making them the first jazz act to win the award in its 31-year history.[16] 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 [helping] young people to play music.… let's continue to support that."[17][18]
Alexis Petridis lauded the winning album by saying thatWhere I'm Meant To Be "stirs together Afro-Cuban rhythms and post-bop with rap – bothSampa the Great and 2022 Mercury nomineeKojey Radical are among the guests – dub, funk and dance music and transformsSun Ra's Love In Outer Space into slick jazz-inflected soul with a vocal by the singerNao, 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."[19]
Ezra Collective's 2024 single "God Gave Me Feet for Dancing" was selected byBarack Obama for his list of 25 favourite tracks of 2024.[20]
In January 2025, Ezra Collective were announced as the runners-up in the BBC'sSound of 2025 poll.[21]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [22] | ||
| You Can't Steal My Joy |
| 70 |
| Where I'm Meant to Be |
| 24 |
| Dance, No One's Watching |
| 7 |
| Organisation | Year | Work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOBO Awards | 2022 | Ezra Collective | Best Jazz Act | Won | [23] |
| Mercury Prize | 2023 | Where I'm Meant to Be | Album of the Year | Won | [14][24] |
| MOBO Awards | 2024 | Ezra Collective | Best Jazz Act | Won | [25] |
| BBC | 2025 | Ezra Collective | Sound of 2025 | Second | [21] |
| Brit Awards | 2025 | Ezra Collective | Group Of The Year | Won | [26] |