Multiple Grammy-winning artist Jacob Collier performed a gripping set tonight (29 January) at Jubilee Stage with a blend of crossover jazz, R&B and pop with contemporary electronic techniques.
Charging onto the stage, he began with a call and response, with variations of the simple word “hello”, engaging the audience and setting the tone for the evening.
Greeting the audience, Jacob Collier said: “It is magnificent to be here. Never once have I played a show in Dubai. Thank you for having me and for being here for me. Expo 2020 Dubai is so beautiful. You are all beautiful. What I love about Expo 2020 is the different flavours, the different stories and the different sounds. I’m like a kid in a candy store here. I haven’t played a solo concert for over three years, but I have resurrected a show just for you.”
Asking the crowd if they were all musicians – to rapturous affirmation – he then launched into a soulful rendition of the Carpenters’ Close to You, with his impressive vocal range including alto and falsetto.
Traversing jazz, hip hop, blues and funk, Collier – dressed in stripy harem pants – dashed about the stage like a harmonic superhero, changing instruments – drums, bass guitar, double bass, piano – at a furious pace.
Collier’s music began as YouTube covers filmed in his childhood bedroom, but now the prodigious musician’s standing has skyrocketing in the music industry, picking up a host of Grammys along the way. His debut album, aptly titled In My Room, won two Grammys, and he has gone on to become the first British artist to receive a Grammy for each of his first four albums.
His heartfelt performance of a Beach Boys cover of In My Room on the Jubilee Stage proved to be one of the evening’s highlights.
A musician’s musician, Collier has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Coldplay and David Crosby.
