FEATURE: Spotlight: Ezra Collective

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Ezra Collective

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ON this outing of Spotlight…

I wanted to concentrate on a group who might not be known to everyone. Ezra Collective are a London five-piece whose sound mixes Jazz with Hip-Hop and Afrobeat. Described by some as distinctly London in origin, Ezra Collective comprises of Femi Koleoso, TJ Koleoso, Joe Armon-Jones, James Mollison, and Ife Ogunjobi. There is this familial bond between the members. This comes through in the very passionate and excellent music. Their current studio album, You Can’t Steal My Joy, arrived in 2019. It was met with critical acclaim. I wonder whether the group have plans for a new album this year. I will come to a fairly recent review with group member Joe Armon-Jones. Before that, I want to look back to an interview from Loud and Quiet. They featured Ezra Collective in 2019:

“The strength of Ezra Collective’s music, then, is also testament to the strength of their friendship. The group met just down the road from where we are today, at Tomorrow’s Warriors, a youth jazz programme run by bassist and all-around British jazz icon Gary Crosby. Having initially come together for a competition to play at Ronnie Scott’s, the band became firm friends, and after a few line-up alterations they haven’t looked back since. “It was essentially a school project we fell in love with,” Femi laughs. As such, the group buzzes with that chemistry that’s unique to school mates. Crammed into a booth, they jostle with one another and pick at the remains of lunch as we talk. Our conversation frequently erupts into fits of laughter, drawing a couple of sideways glances from the kind of couples whose romantic ideal is a Pizza Express within walking distance of Waterloo Station. At one point I look across from me and realise that Joe has been covertly rolling a joint under the table.

Like the best of friendship groups, the members of Ezra Collective aren’t afraid to show their appreciation for one another. “Being with these guys, it’s given [me] a chance to be real and comfortable,” says TJ. “When you’re with your friends you’re comfortable, and there’s no façade that you’ve got to put on.” He admits that while the group have always been close, Ezra Collective hasn’t always been as laidback a project as it is today. “In the early days we tried other things, but they didn’t feel good. We tried to wear suits; it didn’t feel good,” he says, looking around the table at his bandmates who are dressed in a mix of streetwear, afro-centric jewellery and pieces from high street retailers. “It came down to the fact that we just enjoy playing music together, so we took that and ran with it. It was only recently, really, when we realised that we were going against the narrative.”

“The narrative of a young man in London is so often portrayed as negative in every way,” his brother elaborates. “They’re angry; they’re depressed; there are so many issues that surround being a young man growing up in London. Even though most of us are subject to these things that make life difficult, London’s a happy place, I would argue for that. Regardless of what’s happening on a daily basis, the fact we can go to Steam Down freely and have a dance and have fun, or go to Fabric or Wireless, or whatever it is, [makes us happy].”

Having either grown up across London or spent a lot of time in the city thanks to Tomorrow’s Warriors, the members of Ezra Collective are as united by their love for grime, soul and hip hop as they are by their passion for jazz. Femi’s first career break came as a live drummer for veteran rapper Pharaoh Monch, and alongside his duties in Ezra he plays in Jorja Smith’s band, touring the world with the singer. On Twitter and Instagram last summer he shared a picture of himself, along with the rest of her band, chilling backstage with Snoop Dogg.

It’s an approach that underpins not just Ezra Collective’s sound but the sound of London’s young jazz scene as a whole. Moses Boyd, a drummer, friend of the band and fellow Tomorrow’s Warriors graduate, has a residency on Radio 1Xtra. Kamaal Williams teamed up with grime MC Mez for a rework of the Yussef Kamaal track ‘Strings of Light’. Meanwhile, Theon Cross, the tuba player in Sons of Kemet and a respected solo artist in his own right, joined Kano as part of his band for the Made in The Manor tour. Whereas once jazz was seen as stuck-up and over-intellectual, in London, and increasingly further afield, it’s a progressive part of youth culture – increasingly so since Kendrick released ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ in 2015”.

I think Ezra Collective are drawing more people are becoming aware of the Jazz scene in London because of Ezra Collective. The Jazz community in London is very close and supportive. I want to move onto an interview from HAPPY. In 2020, the group were asked about the wave of affection and attention for the Jazz scene, in addition to how London’s Jazz scene seems particularly tight:

“HAPPY: You seem to be on the forefront of this new wave of jazz in London. What do you think primarily caused this surge for the genre?

EC: I think the surge really was down to several things, a boredom of the same things being on a pedestal. We all love DJs, but when it’s all you see on stages, instruments are as exciting as ever. I feel as though that played a part. The use of social media, openness from festival bookers, and then a huge surge of talent in the field sparked it.

HAPPY: London’s jazz community seems to be very close-knit, with crossovers that include Femi on Nubya’s album, Nubya on Ezra’s record, and then other features from members of KOKOROKO and Theon Cross. What contributes to this collaborative community?

EC: I think it’s the love for each other. Everyone wanting to see each other do well. Void from rivalry or ego, I think when it’s just good vibrations at the core of things, it lends itself to an atmosphere of collaboration, advice sharing, inspiration, and so on.

HAPPY: Your second studio album, You Can’t Steal My Joy, defines your ethos of bringing happiness to those who experience it. Do you find the audience reciprocate?

EC: Yes. Definitely. Even the ones we don’t expect it from. The joy is beyond language, age, race, gender. People love joy. And it’s there for everyone if you look hard enough”.

There are not many recent interview from Ezra Collective. I hope that this changes very soon. Joe Armon-Jones chatted with WhyNow last year about working in Ezra Collective, in addition to having his own project. I do hope that we get more insight and interviews from Ezra Collective as we head through the year:

“Asked how it feels to be a forefront component of a new jazz wave in London and the UK at large, Joe replies, “It’s definitely special but t’s been going for a while. It’s not new. I don’t consider myself at the forefront so much, there are other guys who’d take that title: Shabaka [Hutchings] is more that kind of figure, the generation above me…”

Joe is 26, Shabaka is 36, “…but it’s been weird not seeing all those guys at this time.” With jazz being such a collaborative form, I wondered how the enforced distance the pandemic required affected his approach, but for Joe, it’s been nice having no commitments, no deadlines, just allowing him to focus on the music.

“It’s still possible, I’m just making music, writing,” he explains. “You can still get people together and make music. I’m working on a project with my housemate, Maxwell Owin, working with my own band, doing lots of things.”

“There are no gigs, so that’s the main difference… It’s been nice having no commitments, no deadlines, just allowing me to focus on the music… so it’s good, really good.”

What’s the difference between writing and recording with his own band and with Ezra Collective? “With Ezra,” Joe answers, “we write together and once we’re finished, we record in one day, two days. But with my band we’ll write and record it in the same kind of time, but then I’m producing and mastering it for a year! It’s a long process.”

Joe’s life before London was murky. Asked where he moved to London from, he replied, “Way out in the middle of nowhere, man,” and little else. He came to London to study jazz and, honestly, why would you leave?”.

A terrific group who are hugely original and influential, go and check out Ezra Collective. A lot of people have still not discovered them, so this is a perfect opportunity to do so. An urge and demand for a new album from them is clear. Let us hope that these wishes are fulfilled before too long. They are an awesome force that…