Music · London
Ezra Collective Land a Number 1 Studio Album, a First for a UK Male Jazz Group
Here Because Of Hope entered the albums chart at No. 1 on 18 September: the first Number 1 studio album by a UK male jazz group, says Official Charts.
Ezra Collective's fourth album, Here Because Of Hope, went straight in at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart dated 18 to 24 September 2026. It came out on Partisan on Friday 11 September, and in the same week it also topped the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.
Official Charts set out the record in the headline of Max Persad's chart story: 'Ezra Collective become the first UK male jazz group to earn a Number 1 studio album with Here Because Of Hope'. The band's artist page on the same site calls them the first UK male jazz act to do it.
It is a steep climb. Their earlier albums peaked at No. 70 (You Can't Steal My Joy, 2019), No. 24 (Where I'm Meant To Be, 2022) and No. 7 (Dance No One's Watching, 2024).
No. 70, No. 24, No. 7, No. 1. Four albums, one direction of travel.
From London's grassroots jazz scene
Official Charts describes the 2023 Mercury Prize winners' route as running 'from London's grassroots jazz scene to stages around the world'. The band's official store was selling a Limited London Edition LP of the album, at £30, when this was published.
The album
Partisan Records describes the album in three movements: West Africa, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. Guests include Pa Salieu, Lila Iké, Leona Lewis and Libianca, and the BAFTA-winning actor Letitia Wright reads excerpts. DIY's review notes that Wright introduces each of the album's three chapters, and calls it 'an expansive and mature record'.
When the album was announced in May, the band described it like this: 'This album is the journey from that pain to joy, and the connective word in the middle is hope.'
The rest of the chart
Ezra Collective were ahead at midweek too. The Official Charts midweek update on Monday 14 September had them at the top, with Bloc Party second and Bonobo's Distance in Static third. On the final chart, Michael Jackson's The Essential was No. 2, Olivia Rodrigo No. 3, Sienna Spiro's Visitor No. 4 and Oasis's Time Flies – 1994-2009 No. 5. Bloc Party's Anatomy Of A Brief Romance entered at No. 6 and RØRY's BLOODLETTING at No. 8.