Versatile, volatile and the most joyous release so far comes ‘Dance, no one’s
watching’ from London jazz quintet Ezra Collective to inject dance floors with an
appreciation and vitality we didn’t know we needed; from Wembley Arena to
Nottingham’s own, The Level.
First impressions of the record cover – a dynamic lively club scene – and the
intro track make it clear that the EZ are channeling their religion of live music into their
September release. On the whole, the album is full of intricate improvisations, narrative
segments and even recordings of audience interaction, proving to us that Dance, no
one’s watching wastes no time burying its listeners in the crowd of a bustling little jazz
club. It is also immediately clear that their third release moves further from their hip-hop
jazz origins, more towards creating a mixtape of afro-beats, carnival and calypso,
perhaps as a celebration of their Mercury Prize triumph from last year - where they
secured what all previous jazz nominations had fallen short of.
"Dance, no one’s watching wastes no time burying its listeners in the crowd of a bustling little jazz club."
This being said, the band’s love of Fela Kuti’s jazz funk style continues to shine
through their projects, as does Robert Glasper’s (and members have even gone on
record to cite Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly as an early influence). The soulful nature
of the first five tracks - among them being ‘God gave me feet for dancing’, a stand-out
single featuring elegant and stirring vocals from Yazmine Lacey – gives way, suddenly,
to the first stabbing dance track – Ajala. Both this track and the next reference Nigerian
travel journalist Olabisi Ajala, and channel the infamous wanderlust associated with his
cultural journey into a series of roaring brass melodies and syncopated drumlines,
inspiring even the most reluctant to movement. Reminiscent of tracks like Victory Dance
from their last album, or the likes of Sons of Kemet and Snarky Puppy, it is releases like
Ajala that solidify Ezra Collective’s place amongst the virtuosos of the modern music
landscape.
The band became the first jazz act ever to play Wembley Arena in November,
and the passion for performing live is siphoned straight into this release and Streets is
Calling sings to this tune; a funky soulful instrumental complemented by a earworm of a
brass bridge, all set under a vocal piece from M.anifest and Moonchild Sanelly.
Performed live, frontman Femi Koleoso preaches of joy and community over the
comforting melodic scenery of his brother on bass, and other bandmates and members
of ‘Tomorrow’s Warriors’, a music development organisation where the five first met.
As Ezra Collective have moulded a sense of community on stage and through
their collaborative efforts, their joyous affinity crescendoes into, and through, the
ravishing album finale: Everybody. The song’s exquisite tenor harmony over its trumpet
melody, and carefully crafted piano foundation by Joe Armon-Jones, contribute to a
cathartic and spell-binding final stretch of the fingers. The song feels warm on the ears,
and brings the journey home – and it does indeed feel like home.
"The band became the first jazz act ever to play Wembley Arena in November, and the passion for performing live is siphoned straight into this release"
There’s a part of me that imagines I will be listening to this album in the living
room of my old people’s home one day, and reflecting on the dancing and singing I
once did with friends. I don’t think Dance, No one’s Watching is the most
groundbreaking release of recent times, nor by Ezra Collective, but I would argue,
without a shadow of a doubt, that the culmination of each track births a nostalgia, and
an appreciation for the dancing and laughing intrinsic to being human. And now, with
the confidence of an award-winning, arena-playing jazz band, the Ezra Collective march
forward and leave behind a footprint of sentiment, comfort and joy.
Max Durno
Edited by Harriet Bodle
Images courtesy of Ezra Collective on Facebook, video courtesy of Ezra Collective
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