Interview with Femi Koleoso, The Ezra Collective
Posted on: 16 Nov 2017The Ezra Collective are one of the most exciting jazz exports from the London music scene. Fusing one of the oldest musical genres with their own contemporary influences, their inspired musicianship and groovy beats will keep any listener dancing. The collective, made up of James Mollison (Tenor Saxophone) Dylan Jones (Trumpet), Joe Armon-Jones (Piano) and brothers, TJ (Bass) and Femi Koleoso (Drums) are currently touring after releasing their EP 'Juan Pablo: The Philosopher'
We caught up the band leader, Femi Koleoso, after their show at the Colston Hall on Wednesday 15 November.
.jpg "Femi Koleoso from Ezra Collective")
365: Is the first time you guys have played in Bristol?
Femi Koleoso: Nah, Bristol has always been cool. I think we have done a few festivals and we’ve also played at the Canteen. That was a big highlight for us, more so in the early days before we had brought out the first EP and stuff. Bristol is a really special place for music, specifically in the UK so yeah, it’s good to come back.
365: You’re here on tour after the release of your EP, Juan Pablo: The Philosopher – how is that going?
FEMI: It’s going really well so far and been well received internationally, people seem to enjoy it. The best thing is just that it’s a group of friends that have worked hard and put a project together that we’re really proud of, so regardless of how people take it’s still a special documentation for us personally, but everyone enjoying it is a massive bonus.
365 Bristol: You guys are quite young though for the accomplished jazz musicians that you are, how did you guys get together?
FEMI: There’s a jazz development organisation that’s called Tomorrow’s Warrior’s which is based in London that teaches music, particularly jazz music to anyone that wants to learn with a focus on ethnic minority and women which are generally underrepresented in jazz at the moment. So I went along and I met Dylan and James. Then I brought my brother along and then Joe joined later on and that's how we formed. We did a competition for them not even under the name of Ezra collective, but after that we just went for it and carried on because we had so much fun. Now five years later. It's going really well and still going strong.
.jpg "Ezra Collective live in Bristol")
365 Bristol: You guys have such a different range of influence as a collective, talk us through that.
FEMI: it's just a combination of five different pairs of ears. We listen to music all day. So, for me growing up in church with T.J. you get in a bit of a gospel influence and then growing up in a Nigerian household a bit of Afrobeat and Fela Kuti and that's kind of been our contribution. Then you’ve got Joe who’s listening to a lot of jazz music and dub and reggae. James got me into the more spiritual side of jazz like Sun Ra and the late John Coltrane etc. We’re all listening to jazz music and stuff but it's always been open. Everyone in our band loves grime music, we’re all into garage to a degree. We all love hip-hop. I think most bands you’ll find have that kind of range of listening but as a collective we let it all seep out. If I suddenly got mad into heavy metal you'd hear it in the next record you know. It means that everyone's just having a great time because we get our own say about what they're into.
365 Bristol: So, what else can we look forward to from you guys, what have you got coming up in the future?
FEMI: In the future, we're just going to carry on grinding and trying to travel as much as possible to get the music out. We only released Juan Pablo: The Philosopher a month ago so releasing again isn't on the tip of our tongues but we’ll carry on playing. It's really this kind of context, on tour, that we will start writing new material. Someone will have an idea and sing it in the car and then we’ll experiment at this gig or the next gig.
Because we're a band you know the best times to make stuff is when we’re all together. Obviously, someone has an idea and brings it forward but half of the songs you heard today aren't finished in our minds. Every single gig is like another inch and another inch and then after a year, we’re like Ok, let’s record it but even then, it’s not finished. It's almost like an organism that lives and breathes. We’re always chipping into it. We’re just going to carry on having fun travelling and playing to as many people as possible.
365 Bristol: Where else are you heading on tour then?
FEMI: Brighton, Nottingham and London then we have a couple of days off and then we go to Paris, Copenhagen and Rome and after that, I’m going to go to bed. I’m looking forward to bed. Hopefully, we’ll be back here in Bristol next year.
For more about Ezra Collective follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
Photos: Nina Napier and Laura Fantacuzzi (header pic).
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Nina is a journalist and radio broadcaster hailing from Sheffield beyond the wall. She’s been in Bristol for nearly three years and recently completed her masters in Journalism. Nina’s interested in all things food, music and exploring arts and culture.
