I love the infectious Afrobeat vibe of the music on this summery tribute Tony Allen by jazz ensemble Ezra Collective and rapper Kojey Radical.

You can easily imagine Fela Kuti and his own collective turning this into a 25-minute jam. In fact my only complaint about this is that it’s far too short. Femi Koleoso channels the spirit of his mentor, tutor and friend who died in 2020: a pioneer of Afrobeat and one of Nigeria’s musical heroes.

Douglas Bernhardt’s video extends the celebration of Nigerian music, style and culture as the rest of the crew blow up a storm, especially Ife Ogunjobi’s trumpet and sax man James Mollison.

Tony Allen was Fela’s longstanding musical director and an inspirational friend and mentor to Koleoso, who knew him as “Uncle Tony.”

That’s him at the beginning of the video, explaining: “This time around I just really want to go jazz. Everybody will think I’m going to play jazz like the Americans,” he says. “No. I’m playing jazz my way.”

Koleoso says: “Drum lessons with Uncle Tony didn’t just change my life, but Ezra Collective’s. The most valuable thing he ever taught me was, always be yourself. Be who you are. Be proud of who you are. When you truly are who you’re meant to be, you have no confusion.”

Ezra’s tribute extends to the title of the tune: Confusion by Fela Kuti is a 25-minute jam and contains one of the only recorded drum solos by Tony Allen.

Koleoso says his tribute arose because “We’re at a place where we really know who we are as a band – and there’s No Confusion about it.”