The irresistible pulse of Afrobeat—nurtured by Nigerian and West African icons from Fela Kuti to his sons, and carried forward by modern torchbearers like Burna Boy and Davido—resounded triumphantly at the “Jazz 2025” Ball, as Ezra Collective and Nubya Garcia lit up the Montreux Casino. The result? A night of pure dance and transcendence.

Ezra Collective: More Than Just Afrobeat

Yet Ezra Collective is far more than an Afrobeat ensemble. Their sound is a rich fusion of African jazz, Jamaican rhythms, and London’s underground energy. Reggae and especially dub infuse an already colorful musical palette. Their brass lines are as soothing as they are exuberant, supported by sharp, dynamic drumming and an infectious rhythmic drive. Even their mellowest grooves come alive with vibrant urgency.

What makes Ezra Collective magnetic is their openness to London’s new jazz galaxy—a scene tinged with hip-hop, rooted in the legacy of Acid Jazz, pulsing with the energy of Notting Hill Carnival and the endless grooves of steel bands. The concert kicks off with a Collective DJ spinning Groove Armada’s “Superstylin’”—a lighting test and crowd ignition rolled into one. Instantly, Montreux becomes London. Boundaries vanish.

A Manifesto of Movement

Their latest album, Dance Like No One’s Watching, reads like a manifesto—an invitation to let go, to dance as if no one is watching. In a world obsessed with performance and conformity, where viral culture has overtaken authenticity, Ezra Collective flings open the windows to spontaneity and emotion. They call on the crowd to smile at one another, to talk, to connect. It’s contagious—you suddenly want to know the strangers dancing beside you.

That night, in a slightly stripped-down lineup but joined by the phenomenal Nubya Garcia, a global jazz saxophone icon, Ezra Collective gave it everything. They hit the stage with power and grace, announcing their identity from the first notes: wandering basslines, electric piano riffs sharp and tangy, horns bursting with celebratory energy. The crowd erupts when they chant “Jazz is Dead – Welcome to Jack Rock”—a cheeky nod to Damian Marley. With “God Gave Me Feet to Dance” a euphoric ode to movement, the entire room is on its feet in seconds.

Ezra Collective creates a sanctuary where every movement matters, as long as it responds to the music. Drummer Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, pianist Joe Armon-Jones, tenor saxophonist James Mollison, and trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi melt into a molten spiritual flow, handing the spotlight to each other like an elite breakaway in a bike race. The energy is electric, communal, unforgettable. That’s why we live, dance, shout, and slip into trance. Their music resonates far and wide—even Barack Obama counts himself a fan.

Nubya’s Odyssey

The evening opened with a performance full of promise. Nubya Garcia, now a heavyweight of the global jazz scene, returned to Montreux with gratitude and grace. Her rise in recent years has been nothing short of meteoric. Her sound—refined, elegant, rhythmic, Afrobeat-inflected—shines within a tight quartet of bass, piano, drums, and her tenor saxophone. Her latest album, Odyssey, is a tribute to the many forces that shape her voice.

The track introducing the night “Dawn” evokes awakening—perhaps spiritual, perhaps emotional. Like Ezra, Garcia emphasizes the importance of free expression, especially in a venue like the Casino de Montreux: grand, formal, a little faded—beloved by nostalgic jazz purists recalling an era today’s under-20s never knew. Her music imagines a different world, where beauty is resistance: saxophone lines like love letters, piano textures like ripples from a deep rhythm section. “Solstice”invites dreamy movement, a subtle orbit of sound that quietly disrupts stasis. The saxophone soars over a smooth groove, a delicate balance of structure and freedom.

Toward the end of her set, Caribbean sounds surface again—a wink to dub. “Triumphance” the first song Garcia wrote and sang herself, explores life’s essential forces: love, experience, the human journey. Her band deserves high praise: Max Luthert on double bass, his touch fluid and expressive; Sam Jones on drums, breaking and rebuilding rhythms like a Dadaist poet; and Lyle Barton on piano, playing with exceptional delicacy.

Rhythmic Fire and Limitless Groove

Garcia plays with rare freedom—her sax becoming almost percussive, untamed yet precise. She arranges her compositions in ever-evolving forms, sometimes incorporating string orchestras, as seen in other performances. Odyssey is a living, breathing work—its full power revealed on stage. And Montreux was one of those unforgettable nights.

Walking back to the train station, a tune lingers on the lakeside breeze, where elegant crowds sip their final mojitos and spritzes in a twilight of blues and rock. It’s not Spirit in the Sky, but a bluesy, raw version of On the Road Again—Canned Heat, reimagined by The Black Keys from the Scène du Lac. Their set serenades the last festival goers of this 59th edition of the world’s most beautiful music festival.

The night is still alive, even if some must catch the last train. Near the station, a poster of Charlie Chaplin and his museum catches the eye; further down, a cheeky listing for “The Pussies” on the program earns a smile. Montreux is a musical realm—welcoming the old, the young, and everyone in between. The only thing that matters is the desire to feel, to express, to connect. Freely. Without fear. To be yourself—as Ezra says, as Nubya affirms.

David Glaser (text and photo)