London-based collective COLECTIVA push their Afro-Latin and jazz language forward on “EERO”, a five-minute single released 4 November through Jazz re:freshed. The women-led band sit firmly inside London’s current jazz circuits and place percussion and horns at the centre of their sound, with this track announced as the first piece from a forthcoming EP on the label.
The line-up grew out of London gigs, jam sessions and work with platforms such as Women in Jazz and Movimientos, and members bring experience with bands led by artists including Los Van Van, Sampa The Great and Angélique Kidjo. That background gives “EERO” a clear base in Afro-Cuban and wider Latin traditions linked directly to the players’ own live histories.
The band describe the track as an ode to grief, written to feel like a dream that starts in shadow and ends in light, tracking the experience of coping with loss. That idea plays out in a shifting time-signature piece built from repeating Afro-Latin percussion patterns, tightly drilled horn figures and piano parts that sit close to current UK jazz writing. The metre changes move between regular and uneven counts without breaking the core percussion line, keeping the rhythm section and horns locked together from start to finish.
The seven-piece on “EERO” features Viva Msimang on trombone, Lilli Elina on percussion, Lya Reis Guerrero on drums, Allexa Nava on saxophone and flute, Poppy Daniels on trumpet, Sarah Wackett on flute and Alley Lloyd on bass. The COLECTIVA EP follows on 12 December through Jazz re:freshed, developed from momentum built through live performances across the UK, Europe and beyond.
Play and listen to the single HERE