Jacob Collier

Genre-bending musician

In less than a decade, Jacob Collier has amassed a lifetime's worth of accomplishments, including a series of trailblazing tours, a pack of A-list collaborators and a Grammy for each of his first four albums.

Why you should listen

Exploding onto the global stage with the viral success of his multi-frame, multi-instrumental YouTube covers, Jacob Collier caught the attention of Quincy Jones and, under his mentorship, released his debut album, In My Room, in 2016. Recorded, produced and played entirely by Collier, the accompanying one-man-band international tour saw him develop an innovative live show where he played and layered 12 instruments to recreate the world of the album onstage.

Collier's voice has been featured on recent songs from musical icons such as Coldplay and Stormzy and American R&B superstars including SZA, Kehlani and Alicia Keys. In his own projects, Collier has worked with an unpredictable cast of artistic powerhouses, from Malian singer Oumou Sangaré to John Mayer, T-Pain, Jessie Reyez and more. His album cycle Djesse (with its upcoming and final fourth volume) is a progression from the one-man process of In My Room, featuring musical themes that encompass everything from orchestral composition to folk songwriting, R&B, rap and pop.

What others say

“A singular talent of our time … from beatboxing, to angular overlaid vocal harmonies, a melodica solo, clubby beats and then a piano solo -- all in the space of a couple of minutes. This is serious music that puts a massive grin on your face -- and Collier should rightly have the world at his feet.” — jazzwise

Jacob Collier’s TED talk

15:14

Jacob Collier

A one-man musical phenomenon

Posted Jan 2018

More news and ideas from Jacob Collier

Live from TED2023

The dots finally connect: Notes on Session 12 of TED2023

April 21, 2023

After a jam-packed week of ideas, connection and wonder, the remarkable closing session of TED2023 connected the dots, with deep thinking on purpose and the power of self-belief as well as some much-needed challenges to conventional wisdom. The event: Talks from Session 12 of TED2023: Possibility, hosted by TED’s Chris Anderson, Helen Walters and Whitney […]

Live from TED2017

Connection and community: The talks of Session 7 of TED2017

April 27, 2017

We’re more connected than ever before but, in some parts of the world, life has never been more difficult. From refugee camps full of people displaced by war to urban blight in the developed world, our problems are growing more complex. But in that strife lies opportunity. In the seventh session of TED2017, hosted by […]