Ezra Collective

with Kokoroko

The KKL, Lucerne, 21 July 2025

A few weeks prior to seeing Nick Cave in Naples, southern Italy, and Gregory Porter in Wiesbaden, middle Germany, we were looking for a stopover to break up the journey between both and decided upon Lucerne in Switzerland.

No point travelling all that way and not to look for a gig to attend and, as it happens, Ezra Collective were playing there on the night of our stay at the magnificent KKL Konzertsaal. The venue had hosted world renowned orchestras, the acoustics designed to match the richness of the music played.

On this night though, Ezra Collective made the most of the opulent settings to create a party atmosphere that has become their hallmark at all their gigs over the past few years.

Ezra Collective are a jazz quintet composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison.

There was no gentle introduction to their set, no warming up of the audience. From the moment they came onstage they had almost everyone on their feet, even those on the third-tier balcony, a location that demanded a head for heights.

The songs are a rich mix of Afrobeat, hip hop, reggae, and classic jazz elements, delivered by the band members with all the energies they can muster. Their enjoyment playing is plain for all to see and in turn this reflects on the dancing that permeates the hall. The musical grooves from the band seemed to have permeated every muscle in the room.

The term collective has been described as ‘…A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective’.

In this case the ‘entities’ are both the band members and their instruments. Femi Koleoso can genuinely be described as a powerhouse drummer, able across the entire set, to set a beat that was difficult to comprehend. The level of fitness and finesse was of the highest quality and while there was the occasional respite where he let us know how the band had came together, what their musical and social beliefs were, and how they hoped music had the power to transform people’s thinking, the appreciation of a skilled craftsman was difficult to ignore.

And the same could be said for the other four members, TJ Koleoso, strolled across the stage strumming away on bass, encouraging the audience to join in with clapping or waving their arms in time to the beat, a cheeky smile that would ensure he would be welcomed in any household.

The only ‘static’ member of the team was keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, though he was central to ensuring there was a bit of competitiveness to the music, whether that was a call and answer to the saxophone or drum sounds of his bandmates. It was if the keyboards were the glue that hung the others together.

Both trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and, to a greater extent, tenor saxophonist James Mollison were central figures to each song. There is something compelling to a brass section in popular music and both showed the virtuosity that at times had the audience totally transfixed. A walk up and down the aisles that got them up close and personal with many of the audience cemented their reputations for direct engagement with the audience.

There was one clear message that was central to the performance and the many powerful elements on the night by the sheer exuberance the band brought with them.

It wasn’t just in their ‘collective’ performance. Throughout the show, a central theme echoed loud and clear-JOY. (A theme that had been central to the Nick Cave gig a coupe of days previously.)

There have been several serendipitous moments during the #RaceAcrossEurope. This time, right place. Right time. Right band.

This was our first experience of the Ezra Collective. It certainly won’t be the last. What a show.

Support Act – Kokoroko

Kokoroko first formed in 2014 when Sheila Maurice-Grey (trumpet/flugelhorn/vocals) and Onome Edgeworth (percussion) met on an arts trip in Kenya, bonding over their shared tastes in music. A desire to connect young people in the African diaspora with genres like Afrobeat and Highlife would also fuel the band’s genesis. Before long they were playing gigs, riding a wave of the then nascent “London jazz scene”.

As a warmup to the Ezra Collective, they perfectly set the scene for what was to follow with the mix of beats, grooves and jazz influenced free form jamming central to their performance. An extended performance that highlighted the respect both bands have for each other. They were given plenty of time and space to shine with Sheila Maurice-Grey and Anoushka Nanguy shining brightly on both vocal duties and trumpet and trombone respectively.