Ezra Collective win Group of the Year 2025 at the BRIT Awards

Celebrated jazz quintet Ezra Collective (featuring Trinity Laban alumni Femi Koleoso and Joe Armon-Jones) took home the Group of the Year 2025 at the BRIT Awards.

“This moment right here is because of the great youth clubs and the great teachers and the great schools that support young people playing music,” said Femi Koleoso in the group’s accepting speech. He went on to underline the importance of music education access and acknowledged the vital work of organisations such as Kinetika Bloco, Trinity Laban partners Tomorrow’s Warriors, and other UK youth groups, who are dedicated to giving young people the opportunity to make music.

The jazz quintet received nominations in four categories: Mastercard Album Of The Year for their latest record, Dance, No One’s Watching, as well as Best New Artist, Alt/Rock Act and Group Of The Year, taking home the trophy for the latter. Jazzwise described the win as a “breakthrough moment for UK jazz”, and The Guardian stated that Ezra Collective was an example of “precisely the kind of success that the Brits should be celebrating”.

Ezra Collective was also the first-ever jazz group to perform at the BRIT Awards in its 45-year history. They delivered an “electrifying” and “stunning” performance (Jazzwise), joined on stage by Jorja Smith and 30 young musicians from Kinetika Bloco, a youth group which members of Ezra Collective attended as children.

This historic accomplishment follows the group’s Number Two slot on BBC’s Sound of 2025 list and the release of their third, highly-acclaimed studio album Dance, No One’s Watching last year, charting in the UK top 10. The album’s lead single, ‘God Gave Me Feet For Dancing’, earnt them an A-list slot on BBC Radio 1 and a spotlight performance on Strictly Come Dancing. Their previous record, Where I’m Meant To Be, led the group to win the prestigious Mercury Prize in 2023, the first jazz act to do so. Last November, Ezra Collective became the first jazz act to sell out Wembley Arena.

In an interview with NME about the BRIT Awards, Femi Koleoso said: “One day, the BRITs are going to happen and Ezra Collective won’t be here. One day we won’t get nominated and we’ll all be on our sofas watching it on the television – but if someone is here because Ezra Collective went into their school and inspired them, then we will last forever. So will they, if they do the same. That is the way we think about everything.”