Ezra Collective · NPR Tiny Desk, Washington D.C. · 2023
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Live video · Jazz · 2020s
Ezra Collective — Tiny Desk (NPR Music)
Why this recording
Scheduled for 2020 and then pushed back by the pandemic, the session finally took place in November 2022, as the band was launching promotion for its second album, Where I'm Meant To Be, and Femi Koleoso was back from a world tour with Gorillaz. The first two songs come from that record, the third, "Chapter 7", from a 2016 EP. NPR credits the whole team, from Joshua Bryant's direction to Josh Rogosin's audio engineering. Producer Suraya Mohamed suggests keeping an eye on keyboard player Joe Armon-Jones, who can barely stay on his seat.
Simon Janvier, live-sound professional and editor of the catalogue
Filmed live session by Ezra Collective for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk, recorded at the radio’s headquarters in Washington D.C. Spearheads of the London jazz revival, the quintet led by drummer Femi Koleoso blends jazz, afrobeat, highlife and Caribbean grooves in a performance as joyful as it is virtuosic. In the intimate, no-frills Tiny Desk format, the band shows its collective sense, careful arrangements and contagious energy that lifts the small room. This multi-song capture is a perfect showcase of the sound of a group that became, in 2023, the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize. A must-see of contemporary live jazz. Keywords: Ezra Collective live, Tiny Desk, NPR Music, London jazz, live session, full performance.
Setlist
- Victory Dance
- Welcome To My World
- Chapter 7
Personnel & credits
- Femi Koleoso — drums
- TJ Koleoso — bass
- Joe Armon-Jones — keyboards
- James Mollison — saxophone
- Ife Ogunjobi — trumpet
- Joshua Bryant — director and editor
- Josh Rogosin — sound engineer
- Suraya Mohamed — producer
What to watch next
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