Offering the latest output from an electrifying London scene, the quintet are looking to cement their name globally through homegrown multicultural freshness.
“Quest for Coin,” has the ring of London to it, making it a necessarily colloquial title for a band whose sound is rooted in home. It is the latest release from the celebrated Ezra Collective and comes ahead of their first major output since Reason in Disguise in 2018.
Pioneering a new wave of British jazz music, band members Femi Koleoso (Drums), TJ Koleoso (Bass), Joe Armon Jones (Keys), Dylan Jones (Trumpet) and James Mollison (Saxophone) see their style as paying respects to tradition at the same time as incorporating afrobeat, hip-hop, grime and more.
The result is spirited, culturally inclusive and impossible to ignore. It has seen the group described as Best UK Jazz Act and best Live Experience of the Year by the Jazz FM awards. The fact that they are being joined on their upcoming album, You Can’t Steal My Joy, by Loyle Carner and Jorja Smith, shows their wide appeal as well as jazz’s steady encroachment into mainstream music territory.
The first single, “Quest for Coin,” is a symbol of bustling city life. According to Koleoso, who acts as bandleader, it represents the “pursuit of money [without] loosing your soulfulness in the process.” A bright and bold sign of things to come. Wrap your ears around it on Qwest TV:
The full album will be released on April 26.
