The Ezra collective impress at their debut visit to Manchester.
Admittedly, my knowledge of The Ezra Collective was limited before I set foot in The Night & Day Café, so I didn’t know what to expect, however as I lingered under the origami tiled roof, I found myself gradually swaying into a sea of loose Jazz head nods and funk grinded foot taps.
Taking to the stage first was Shunya. A Manchester based artist/composer comparable to the mighty Mr Jukes, if the brass section was replaced with violins. build ups came in heavy stack, fuming up your ears with electronic pleads before the wickedly wonderful vocalist Hayley Williams passionately preached across the café crowd.
Then came, The Ezra Collective. Joining the stage, one by one, armed with man bangs, hoods, caps, plenty of laughs, they picked up their weapon of choice, whether it was the trumpet, or electric bass, and proceeded to punch the audience into a Jazz jived fruit bowl. Dipping and diving into pieces such as the infamous ‘Caravan’, the band tightrope along the line of new wave Jazz and funk.
Instrumental solos are politely placed throughout the night, with Dylan Jones trumpet serenade perching the audience into an ambient hypnosis. This is music at its highest quality. Everything the collective stands for speaks out through their charismatic concoctions of bluesy jazz. Genuine passion peeps through every tip toe rattle of the snare, every bloated bass line, every whistle the saxophone sings.
The Ezra Collective are a completely original experience, which I cant wait to witness again. Quite possibly the best technical musicians I have ever heard, they are set to place Jazz on a new pedestal, with themselves sat deservingly at the
throne. Incredible.
