By Josh Peleg, Second year English
'Explosive drum solos and silky afro-beats', Josh Peleg reviews Ezra Collective at Thekla
The London jazz scene is the hottest hunting ground for new talent, and one of the best groups to emerge from this fresh wave is Ezra Collective. They are a 5-piece outfit with the dancing shoes to match and effortlessly switch form breakneck funk beats, to grime covers to spitting bars like Big Shaq.
Deep in the belly of Thekla the band emerged, slightly late but full of energy. They launched into a glorious hour and a half set spanning all manor of their own material along with a few covers. The audience reacted with relish, lapping up every soliloquy on peace and love that Femi, the bandleader, blessed us with. Ezra’s uniqueness is their raw power and synergy, and you can guarantee that they’ll always have more moves up their sleeve than any audience combined.
After meeting the band at the end of the concert, my fellow jazz perusers and myself followed Ezra to Mr Wolfs where they took to the stage with some members of JFS, playing us another glorious set full of explosive drum solos and a selection of silky afro-beats. The chemistry between the two brothers Femi and TJ, on drums and bass respectively, is addictive, and you can be sure that when they’re next in Bristol I’ll be there, and you should to.
Featured Image: Ezra Collective/ Independent
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