“I was 19 years old and got to travel Europe with a rapper—a dream come true,” says Femi Koleoso, drummer and bandleader of Ezra Collective, one of a growing number of London-based jazz groups bringing newfound global attention to the genre. Speaking by phone, he shared the story of his first big gig, when he was spotted at a jazz club and asked to support the acclaimed Queens, New York, rapper Pharoahe Monch on tour six years ago. Today, Koleoso is gearing up for the release of Ezra Collective’s debut album, You Can’t Steal My Joy (out April 26), while on tour drumming for Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith.
Like many of their peers on the UK jazz scene, Ezra Collective have been making their way to increasingly bigger stages of late. The quintet were included on last year’s celebrated We Out Here compilation, a project organized by DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson and released through his label, Brownswood Recordings. The album is a sweeping collection of offerings from across London’s vibrant jazz revival, from the cosmic sounds of Shabaka Hutchings, member of the Mercury Prize-wining band Sons of Kemet, to the Afrobeat-influenced grooves of eight-piece band KOKOROKO, whose self-titled debut EP was released earlier this month.
With Hutchings as its music director, the critically acclaimed compilation serves as a pivotal document of the scene, and Peterson recently announced a festival of the same name taking place on August 15-18 in Cambridgeshire. The fest is yet more evidence of the growing interest in new jazz in the UK, especially among young people. Just last year, the number of UK users aged 30 and under listening to Spotify’s Jazz UK playlist increased by 108%.
Recent Comments