Since his first YouTube clip ten years ago, there has been no doubt about Jacob Collier’s special talent. Nevertheless, he had not outgrown the talent phase when he last appeared in Munich three years ago. Sure, with his multi-instrumental skills he replaced an entire orchestra in a spectacular way, and with stupendous musicality. But he was also extremely erratic, monomaniac and indecisive, which is why it ended up being very exhausting, jittery ADHD pop. Now, three years later, the now 27-year-old Brit presented himself in the Muffathalle after a subsequent wild initial phase, phenomenally mature, focused and musically mature.
Since then, Collier has not only won four Grammys (for all four editions of his “Djesse” project), but has obviously learned a lot. For example German, since he made his first announcement almost flawlessly in the language of the host country. Above all, patience and calm. While he used to jump back and forth between the instruments like a bouncy ball, rarely staying longer than 30 seconds on a musical theme, he now concentrated entirely on the song during his solos. So he stuck to the obligatory cover, this time by “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Simon & Garfunkelconstantly sitting at the keyboard and transformed the piece via vocoder and extremely slowly into a magical ballad of the computer age.
Even more important: His five-piece band, which he later rightly praised in the highest tones, was no longer just accessories. Collier played with his companions, giving them space, especially the fantastic voices of Alita Moses, Emily Elbert and Bryn Bliska. Without having to do without show interludes like the drum duel with Christian Euman. Jacob Collier was no longer just demonstrating his talents, he was making music. Now it can really start.