Collier was set to perform at the Newport Music Hall on May 30. Due to COVID-19, the show has been postponed. Learn more at www.promowestlive.com.
By the age of 25, Jacob Collier has accomplished what many aspiring musicians could only dream of. From collaborations with Steve Vai, the Metropole Orkest and Coldplay to opening for Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock and having a working relationship with the legendary Quincy Jones, you may be asking yourself: Who is this musician?
On top of being a four-time Grammy-award winner and touring around the world, Collier has slowly captured the attention and fascination of some of the world’s brightest minds in music.
Going Viral
Collier first started getting noticed when he began posting YouTube videos, covering songs by artists such as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, in which he played every instrument and sang every part.
His mother, Susan, a violin instructor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, filled his childhood with music and an undeniable curiosity for sound and creation.
“Every room in the house, there was something that made a sound, whether it was a musical instrument or not,” Collier says. “I was like a musical sponge; I had a varied and ravenous appetite.”
Collier’s videos have amassed millions of views. Since then, he has released three studio albums, most of which were recorded from the comfort of his own home. His debut album, In My Room, was predominantly self-produced, with Collier playing every instrument.
“I very purposefully carved an area in my life where I can be creating in a very free way,” Collier says. “If you have bright ideas and enough patience and courage and fearlessness, you can literally change the world and it’s an amazing thing to realize.”
Though his accolades and body of work speak volumes for someone at such a young age – Collier makes it evident that he is solely focused on creating as much as humanly possible.
Meeting Quincy Jones
In October 2014, Collier uploaded his own arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” to YouTube. The primarily a capella cover featured multiple “Jacobs” singing and creating harmonies.
The cover went viral and has now earned more than 40 million views. To Collier’s surprise, it caught the ear of one of the biggest names in music history: Quincy Jones.
“Quincy was one of those people that genuinely blew my mind when people started contacting me,” Collier says. “He is arguably the greatest living musician and living force in the music industry and just an extraordinary human.”
Jones signed Collier to his management company and booked the young artist’s first-ever live performance in support of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea at the 2015 Montreux Jazz Festival. The two maintain a close relationship, which Collier still marvels over, both creatively and socially.
“One of the reasons I am most grateful for him is that he has let me have my space,” Collier says. “I wanted to do things on my own terms, on my own time and in my own space, and Q has had a massive understanding for that. He’s more like a godfather than a mentor … which is wonderful. We hang out as much as possible and he tells all these outrageous stories about all my favorite musicians.”
Keeping the Tradition Alive
While Collier is rooted in the jazz world, he is quick to deny the label, insisting he borrows from all music that he enjoys.
Collier mentions that Jones often refers to jazz as “the classical music of pop,” and in a way, these words have helped Collier make music in a world where genres are collapsing and artists pull inspiration from a number of sounds.
“If musicians want to get thoroughly interested in musical harmony and groove and the science behind all of that, jazz is where that all sits comfortably,” Collier says. “I appreciate jazz, but I don’t see the reason of labeling things as X, Y and Z. Jazz is most definitely a large portion of the music that I have been inspired by alongside folk, classical, electronic and rap.”
The very premise is evident in his continuing four-part album titled Djesse.
With collaborations from more than 40 musicians, Djesse is a collection of everything that inspires Collier.
“It’s more possible now than it’s ever been to include multiple flavors and to make it as one coherent thing, especially in the age of international technologically capable collaborations,” Collier says. “It’s very cool that people can channel their own creative energy without involving any middle man whatsoever.”
For the aspiring musician, or the person waiting to pick up an instrument, the time is now. Collier hopes this possibility sparks inspiration.
“Stay fascinated, because that will keep you thirsty,” Collier says. “Make a life, not a living, because no one really cares about money. Money and success make themselves as apparent as they need to once you are fascinated and creating something of value.”
Collier was set to perform at the Newport Music Hall on May 30. Due to COVID-19, the show has been postponed. Learn more at www.promowestlive.com.
Jacob Collier Tells All
CityScene: If you were stranded on a desert island and only given three records to listen to, what would you pick?
Jacob Collier: Songs in the Key of Life (Stevie Wonder), Ten Summoners Tales (Sting) and this album Friend Opportunity by Deerhoof. It’s the most crazy, incandescent, wacko music, I love it.
CS: What was the first concert you attended?
JC: Seeing music live was probably my mom conducting classical music, but my first actual gig was Stevie Wonder at the O2 in London. It’s inconceivable to have a musician you admire so much right in front of you.
CS: Aside from the artists you’ve collaborated with so far, who is your dream collaboration?
JC: I keep bringing him up, but I would have to say Stevie Wonder. But two others would be Kendrick Lamar or D’Angelo.
CS: What instrument do you wish you were better at?
JC: I barely play any guitar; at some point I’d love to sit down and improve. I recently got this new instrument, a harpejji and it is beautiful and fascinating and has driven me crazy in the best possible way.
CS: What are you looking forward to the most about performing in the states?
JC: More than I could put into words… I am putting a band on stage this year, there will be five of us and we all play a couple of different instruments and sing together. What I am most excited about is to hear the audience singing. I’ve found this language where they can sing notes and we can improvise together. Audiences can be real groovy.
Rocco Falleti is an editor. Feedback welcome at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com.
