Rambling into noise.

After the success of Mercury-award-winning Where I’m Meant to Be, British jazz trailblazers Ezra Collective return: with a record devoted to the dancefloor.

The jazz quintet, for their 3^rd studio album release, embark on a journey through 19 tracks, traversing through pulsating rhythms, provided by drummer Femi Koleoso and bassist TJ Koleoso, triumphant melodies from James Mollison and Ife Ogunjobi, and the signature artistry you can expect from Joe Armon-Jones on the keys.

Brothers Femi and TJ lock straight in, to kick things off with The Herald, before Palm Wine graces with a blissful highlife energy, welcoming Tobi Adenaike, of neighbouring jazz outfit Kokoroko, to complement the band with an effortlessly intricate feature on the guitar.

We move into two of the album’s single releases: God Gave Me Feet For Dancing, featuring the soulful vocals of Yazmin Lacey, and the thumping Ajala, named after Nigerian journalist and travel writer Olabisi Ajala. Both tracks, released earlier this year, already seem to have cemented themselves into the catalogue of modern British Jazz staples.

The transition into The Traveller is clean, with Joe teasing a floating rendition of house track ‘Mystery of Love’. The band are now ‘in the dance’.

N29 is stripped back but groovy. Joe demonstrates his prowess on the keys, all whilst held up understatedly by TJ on bass. Between N29 and the later Why I Smile, we hear a glimpse of the freer, more traditional jazz sound of Ezra Collective, more akin to their sound on Where I’m Meant to Be.

Olivia Dean features in No One’s Watching Me, a song about living in the moment, dancing carefree: everything this album wishes to encapsulate.

The immense horns of James and Ife guide us through the powerful, upbeat trio of Hear my Cry, Shaking Body and Expensive, drawing inspiration from Marvia Province and legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti; they are certainly done justice.

Streets is Calling, featuring M.anifest and Moonchild Sanelly, wraps up the most energetic passage, bringing the album back down to earth, before While I Smile showcases the raw talent of this quintet in a more exposed piece, in particular Joe, who masterfully guides us through to their final dance.

This is where Dance, No One’s Watching truly reaches its peak. Everybody is powerful and emotional, perfectly capturing Ezra Collective’s simple message: togetherness. It is a simple, yet emotive chord progression brought to life through passionate musicality, creating a masterful end to an album which has demonstrated a fresh, more composition-focussed side to Ezra Collective, whilst retaining the values they’ve come to be associated with: spirit, unity and joy.