Album Review: Ezra Collective - 'Dance, No One's Watching'
Ezra Collective return to doff caps to dance.
For the British jazz quintet - composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison - their 2024 saw the bands' mantlepiece a little full.
Along with winning Best Jazz Act at last years' MOBO Awards, they became the first ever Jazz act in its 31-year history to win the Mercury Prize for their spiritually astute record, Where I'm Meant To Be. It wasn't just the awards they swept up either - they also swept us up on the dancefloor. They held one of the most cherished sets at Glastonbury basking in the setting Somerset sun while a little closer to home, they hosted sold-out headline shows at London's Hammersmith Apollo and Royal Albert Hall on tour. So it's safe to say that 2023 was very much a landmark year for the boys.
So, what was next for the group? With such a bumper year, where can you go from there? Well back to the roots, of course. Written through the year of 2023 while they endlessly toured the world, their next global groove of intent is an ode to the timeless art of dancing. From a night out in the big Los Angeles to the dawn's final hours over Sydney's waters, Dance, No One's Watching and its nineteen individual celebrations - all seemingly made for each cultural city they visited last year - is a nod to the majesties of music. It's premise may be a simple one, buy my God is it effective.
With the record boasting 19 tracks, it is the quintet's most expansive work to date, with the experiences of tour evidently conjuring up so many ideas for Femi the bandleader to dive headfirst into. There's all sorts in here.
Latin grooves and tenacious samba lines take up the majority of sounds with The Herald beckoning whimsical newcomers for the first time on the dancefloor. While piano-heavy Palm Wine is perfecting the jazz nuances of Ronnie Scotts' in London or Blue Note over the pond in the Big Apple. Even the string segues in-between are divine, almost as if you're stepping off one plane to another (it seems The Traveller track all but confirms this theory.)
The crucial moments are lead single God Gave Me Feet For Dancing, where we hear the first lyrical involvements with Yazmin Lacey's sweet notes bringing in the silky-smooth version of Ezra we've all come to love. Ajala is another raucous anthem full of pizzazz and energy, where it is simply impossible to remain still. If you're not on your feet or even foot tapping at this point... then I don't know what to tell you.
Award season aside, the group have simply picked up where they've left off, perfecting the craft once more with their instrumental third limbs and just doing what they've always loved doing.
To say N29 is the equivalent to on-hold music is not an injustice by any stretch, but is a timely departure as a comedown to wipe the beads of sweat on our foreheads. We're lifted up once again but this time with the might of soul queen Olivia Dean on luxurious No One's Watching Me. Olivia Dean joins the ever-impressive roster of collaborative partnerships the Collective has worked with: Emeli Sande, Jorja Smith, Loyle Carner and Sampha the Great to name a few.
Hear Me Cry is certainly a Copa America anthem in the works, surely? Not to mention Shaking Body hustling you back on the streets of Brazil. Oh, Ife's trumpet solo here. My word. The sounds are just impeccable, every addition of an instrument has been meticulously sized up and found its place. All the while Femi is living up to his acclaimed adoration as a community icon and a phenomena on the kit with his rhythmic statements of intent.
Of course, it wouldn't be an Ezra Collective work if we didn't add enigmatic rap to the mix, as M.anifest and Moonchild Sanelly bring their words to Streets is Calling; a Jamaican bossa nova bop that further solidifies Ezra Collective's genre embrace to all sorts of diverse.
If there's one song that surmises this record, it's Everybody at the end. Through it all, it's this dance that connect us. Your political views with your neighbours seem far more trivial when you're dancing. These songs are just testament to that spirit. But above all else, this is just a solid, groove-fuelled fun record. And it's worth every minute spent listening.
Words by Alex Curle
