For a decade, British jazz has been offering a more than interesting renewal through several emerging and now internationally established artists and groups, Ezra Collective is one of these leading formations of this movement. The colonial past of Great Britain is not that of the USA or Canada, the English West Indies and English-speaking Africa tint this new jazz mixed with Nigerian Afrobeat, Jamaican reggae, South African jazz, Latin jazz and more. A child of immigration, drummer and leader Femi Koleos was first inspired by Robert Glasper’s jazz groove and the crossbreeding of jazz, soul/R&B and hip-hop led by Kendrick Lamar. This groove crossed the Atlantic and hybridized with the African and Afro-Caribbean music loved by these young musicians – Joe Armon-Jones, keyboards, Ife Ogunjobi, trumpet, James Mollison, tenor sax, TJ Koleoso, bass. The band’s second album, Where I’m Meant To Be, was released in late 2022. The production has string additions, the quintet sometimes turns into a chamber orchestra but essentially sticks to the English-style groove. The proposal remains highly attractive for the fans of soul, R&B. We appreciate the fervor, the cultural diversity of its members and the power of the collective sound. A recent EP is a successful reworking of Lady, a classic by Fela Kuti in the blessed days of his band Afrika 70.
