Ezra Collective is the first jazz act to win the prestigious Mercury Prize. They’re composed of drummer and band leader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and saxophonist James Mollison. We caught up with them ahead of the release of their third studio album, Dance, No One’s Watching.

How London influences our sound…

JAMES: “It’s a melting pot of different cultures and different sounds, and it’s always throwing something new at us. Whether that’s languages we hear on the streets or music from other countries that we hear on car radios. They are sounds that have shaped our music in some way.”
 

Ezra Collective was formed when...

JAMES: “We were put together in 2012. We were all attending a jazz development workshop called Tomorrow’s Warriors at the Southbank Centre. They wanted a band to represent them at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival youth competition.”

TJ: “… We won!”

On winning the 2023 Mercury Prize...

IFE: “I can’t even remember how I felt because I was so shocked. We were so proud to have won an award that we really respected. And those moments feel even greater when they’re shared between brothers and in front of family. We all ended up on the floor.”

JOE: “I felt very proud to be the first jazz act to win it.”

JAMES: “… I was a little bit tipsy.” 

One thing I can’t live without on tour... 

TJ: “My bible. I read it every morning. It keeps me grounded and reminds me of the most important things in life.”

JOE: “Dried mango.”

My fondest memory of Selfridges...

FEMI: “When I bought a new Gucci belt with my birthday money. I had been working out loads and needed a new one to fit my slim-ting waist.”

IFE: “All that time in the Foodhall. Either at Tonkotsu or Sweet Dee’s Jerk… every day.”

JAMES: “Around Christmas when we were younger, my brother and I would always stand outside in the cold, admiring the window displays.” 

Right now, I’m listening to...

FEMI: “I’m in a deep place of discovering and studying Cuban music. Both old and new. I’m also listening to Buena Vista Social Club, Daymé Arocena and Afro-Cuban All Stars.”

JOE: “Follow the Leader by Korn and Let Me in Your Life by Aretha Franklin.”

Dance, No One’s Watching by Ezra Collective is out on 27 September 2024