Ezra Collective talks community, commemoration and Courvoisier

It’s rare to find a band that puts as much emphasis on their community endeavours as their music. But since they formed in 2012 after meeting at local youth clubs, Ezra Collective has not only been pioneering a new flavour of jazz music, they’ve also been giving back to their community through the Ezra Collective Foundation, which offers career entry and development opportunities for young Black women.

That is, of course, no distraction from their sound, though. In fact, it’s been a stellar few years for the five-piece, who won Best Band at the BRIT Awards in March, following on from their Mercury Prize win in 2023. As I chat to frontman Femi Koleoso, the band are actually on a world tour, debuting their album Dance, No One’s Watching. Pair that with stop-offs to play Glastonbury and support Stevie Wonder at BST Hyde Park, and you have yourself the definition of booked and busy.

Between their community efforts and a packed-out performance schedule, Ezra Collective has lots to celebrate — something that was highlighted only last week at Kachette in Shoreditch. Dubbed The Moments That Made Us, the venue takeover manifested in a four-day immersive experience put on by cognac brand Courvoisier. It documented some stellar moments in the band’s career through written speeches and printed pictures, as well as their contribution to London’s music scene through installations, DJ sets and, of course, cognac cocktails galore.

Taking a beat away from his jam-packed life, Koleoso reflects with us on the collective, community and commemoration.

Togetherness isn’t just part of your sound — it’s how you move as a collective. How do you protect that sense of unity when you’re creating, performing and living life on the road?

It comes down to prioritising the moments that aren’t professional. It’s just as much about backstage as it is on stage — just as much about the journey to the destination as it is when you land there. When we’re on stage, a lot of that good vibe has been crafted when we’re off stage. One of the little rules we have as a band is that we consider the gig to have started an hour before the stage time. If we’re going on stage at 9pm, I want to be vibing with my brothers at 8pm. All of those things contribute to making it feel like a collective all the time. 

The Ezra Collective Foundation has already made a real impact. What inspired you to launch it, and what do you hope it unlocks for the next generation?

The inspiration for it comes from a belief that, rather than complaining about things, you make the change yourself. Being in a band of boys, we felt that we owed it to all of the incredible women who have put us in this place to try and advocate for the next one. We had the opportunity to have five girls come and join us, and we were able to use the resources of Ezra Collective to train them. One of them got a job this morning, and that’s, like, one of the best moments of my day. It’s in its infancy, but I’m just excited about organising what has always been on our hearts as a band.

Collaboration has always been part of your band DNA. What makes a collaboration work for you? Is there a shared energy you look for?

Collaboration is about an alignment of intention. If you’re in the room with someone who wants the same thing as you, you can collaborate on that common goal. You collaborate with sixty thousand fans when you go and watch a football match, and you’re all trying to see the same person score. It’s kind of like a condensed version of that in the studio.

Tell us about your most recent album. What story were you hoping to tell with it?

The narrative that I really wanted to convey with Dance, No One’s Watching is that time is very precious, and sometimes we take it for granted. One of the ways we do that is you will see an opportunity to dance and express yourself, but you will allow the opinions of people around you to rob you of that moment. I think that’s a wasted opportunity. I got obsessed with seeing people who were just brilliant at not caring — they were like, I’m here to dance, and I’m dancing until it’s done. I started to write soundtracks for those people in the hope that we can learn from them collectively.

When you look back at the key moments that shaped your journey, how does it feel to reflect on how far you’ve come — and how does the Courvoisier Moments That Made Us campaign capture that story?

It’s very precious to have physical things. A lot of these amazing moments are memories to me, which is also very beautiful. But sometimes memories fade. Physical objects last a lot longer. To walk into the room and see a speech in a physical way is a very, very special thing. I’m seeing pictures of myself that I can’t even remember where I was or when it was taken, but just seeing it in a physical way, it’s kind of like I’m inside Ezra Collective right now. There’s something very precious about a beautiful moment that may have contributed to who you are today in a physical presence.