Here Because of Hope (Photobooth Series 005)

Ezra Collective's Here Because Of Hope is their most ambitious and personal record yet. Built in three spiritual and geographical movements, it follows the journey of Black music across continents and decades, from Africa to the Caribbean and back to the streets of London.

Formed in London youth clubs, Femi Koleoso, TJ Koleoso, Joe Armon-Jones, James Mollison, and Ife Ogunjobi have spent more than a decade making jazz feel joyful, urgent and impossible to ignore.

Here, they ask why so much Black music shaped by pain still sounds full of joy. Their answer is hope. With Pa Salieu, Lila Iké and Leona Lewis, this warm, far-reaching album honours the global African diaspora, including America, where those African and Caribbean roots helped give rise to jazz.