CD: Djesse Vol. 4

With his new album "Djesse Vol. 4", Jacob Collier not only ends his cycle of four albums, but also the first decade of an extraordinary career.

The Londoner has been surrounded by music since his earliest childhood. His mother and grandfather were violinists, both of whom also held professorships at the Royal Academy of Music. Jacob Collier recorded his first videos in the instrument room of his parents' house, in which he played well-known pop and jazz standards and enriched them with his incomparable vocal harmonies. Many of these videos reached an audience of millions on YouTube and also aroused the curiosity of producer legend Quincy Jones, who took the then 20-year-old under his wing.

Today, ten years later, Jacob Collier has already shared the stage with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Pharrell Williams. He is a two-time Grammy winner and has worked with composer Hans Zimmer in Hollywood. Above all, however, with "Djesse Vol. 4" he is now presenting the conclusion of his album series, which he began back in 2018.

This time, "Djesse Vol. 4" is all about "the power of the human voice", as Collier himself says. However, there is no need to do without top-class instrumental virtuosity on this jack-of-all-trades' fifth work. Once again, Jacob Collier's wealth of ideas and creativity are just as impressive as the perfection of his realization.

So it's no wonder that famous fans also appear to be guest stars on "Djesse Vol. 4". Pop royalty such as John Legend, Shawn Mendes and Michael McDonald can be found on the album as well as Anoushkha Shankar, UK rapper Stormzy and guitar virtuosos John Mayer and Steve Vai.

Further proof that the former child prodigy Jacob Collier has long since become a phenomenon that is celebrated across all genre boundaries.