Ezra Collective, the Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning British jazz group, played a sold-out gig at London's KOKO venue with surprise appearances from Leona Lewis, Kojey Radical and Yazmin Lacey.
The one-night-only event, titled British Airways American Express presents Ezra Collective & Friends, marked 25 years of the British Airways American Express Card with a celebration of music and connection.
Band's roots and accolades
The group consists of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi and tenor saxophonist James Mollison, who met at the jazz youth programme Tomorrow's Warriors.
Their sound blends Afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, soul and jazz. In 2023 they won the Mercury Music Prize, and last year they became the first jazz group to take Group of the Year at the BRIT Awards.
Their 2024 single, God Gave Me Feet For Dancing, was selected by former US President Barack Obama as one of his 25 favourite songs of the year.
Tribute to London and new album
Bandleader Femi Koleoso paid tribute to the capital, telling the crowd: "London gave birth to Ezra Collective, so to be here tonight with you all, and looking out into this amazing crowd seeing people who have helped us get to this point is so amazing. Dance and celebrate with no rules and always keep practising London, you are the best city in the world."
The show followed the release of their latest album, Here Because Of Hope, described as their most ambitious and personal record yet, tracing Black music across continents and generations from Africa through the Caribbean to London.
The set included Kojey Radical joining the band for No Confusion, Yazmin Lacey performing God Gave Me Feet For Dancing, and Leona Lewis making a surprise appearance for All I Need.
