Moses Boyd: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit - stripped-down sets, an intimate setting - just a different space.
Nikki Birch | May 7, 2021
The Church Studios in North London is an institution, home to some of the most iconic records of the last three decades, including Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and Adele's 25. From the hallowed Neve Room, Moses Boyd and his band remind us that the U.K. jazz scene still bangs. They also remind us that COVID-19 regulations are much stricter across the pond: physical distancing is the name of the game in this at home concert.
The set begins with "Stranger Than Fiction," a bouncy grime tune that features saxophonist Quinn Oulton, whose pedals lend his horn a dark and haunting quality. Boyd humbly introduces the band and slips right into "2 Far Gone," and we get a chance to sink our teeth into his virtuosic drumming. Dynamic, at times explosive, and always tasteful, he lays down a bed of rhythm that gives keyboardist Renato Paris and guitarist Artie Zaitz plenty of room to shine. Then it's dancing time! "BTB" is a funky Afrobeat tune with an infectious melody that serves as the perfect closer.
SET LIST
• "Stranger Than Fiction"
• "2 Far Gone"
• "BTB"
MUSICIANS
• Moses Boyd: Drums
• Artie Zaitz: Guitar
• Renato Paris: Synths
• Quinn Oulton: Tenor Saxophone, Electronics
CREDITS
• Video: Adam Grant, James Topham, Josiane M.H Pozi
• Audio: Luke Pickering
TINY DESK TEAM
• Producer: Nikki Birch
• Video Producer: Maia Stern
• Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
• Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
• Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Bob Boilen
• Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
• Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
#mosesboyd #tinydesk #nprmusic

[@TheWhyer]

Fifty years from now, people will be talking about how killer the UK jazz scene was in the 2010s/2020s, thanks to cats like these. For now we just gotta sit back and enjoy it.

[@dabrowski7555]

I am not a jazz connaisseur. Can you recommend me other flourishing jazz scenes besides UK?

[@lino3979]

@@dabrowski7555 alfa mist, yussef dayes, sons of kemet, tom misch, jordan rakei, nubiya garcia, stacey palladino, charlie stacey, to name a few

[@dabrowski7555]

@@lino3979 Thanks Lino!

[@Peter32tjrksor]

@@dabrowski7555 the ones he mentioned are from uk. Did you want other parts of the world?

[@dabrowski7555]

@@Peter32tjrksor yes please! My favorite so far are Sons of Kemet / The comet is coming

[@MTGOFASIA]

that smooth stick recovery at 7:41

[@LiamBaileyMusic]

Smashed it 💥💥💥😅👍🏽

[@Wanningwarninginwarmwearther]

It basically fell on beat

[@Reeenald]

Refreshing to hear drums taking the lead.

[@Burnt_outt]

Check out Yussef Dayes, Makaya Mccraven

[@rachelchopsuey7573]

Let me just say how GRACEFUL Moses Boyd ghost notes are!!!!! Enjoyed this show. .

[@juliopereira8632]

is fascinaiting the ghost notes

[@benkempner6166]

Let me just say how ghostful his grace notes are!

[@Saltoric]

I saw Moses Boyd in March 2020 in Brixton, it was my last concert before Coronavirus. Man what a show. So great to see him performing here too!

[@ChrisBS0789]

Same.

[@harrytutt5146]

Same

[@couplabooks9192]

Same!

[@FabriceBourgellePhotography]

Weirdly I just made a new doc called "Back to Live" about that very moment.. available on YT ..enjoy

[@jochikondur]

OMG, that THICC PHAT bass drum sound with the sub-kick mic! Kudos to the recording engineer, Luke!

[@SimonLopezPsymon]

Like others, I discover him in "We Out Here", amazing drummer :-)

[@NielsLieman]

Never had the opportunity to see him play live, so I only listened to it on Spotify. Great to see him play live on tiny desk!

[@iBen4G]

I saw him live back in 2017, he had a solo gig where he was drumming and playing samples from a controller. It was amaizing how he told a story with just a kit and some backing samples.

[@AToolyTime]

Moses Boyd is just incredible. I love listening to him play.

[@farhanibrahim8788]

damnnmnn mann.that last song! phenomenal man ☺️

[@Rbbnz]

The sound of the 🎷 is beautiful

[@grege.831]

Great to see Moses Boyd on here. What a talent. UK Jazz scene right now is everything.......

[@supergranular]

Last concert I attended before the global lockdown was Moses in Camden. It was incredible and the next day my office closed. What a year.

[@ronhellengreen4799]

Dam you guys are wicked! I'm a 67 year old drummer, blues, but never could grasp jazz! But I love to listen to it! Wish I could play it. Thanks for making my day! I will definitely be watching, and listening to more of your killer jazz!

[@jimjimjimjimjim6572]

never to late to start learning brother

[@sauzeeee]

my biggest goal in drumming as well: to play jazz properly.

[@bogsybill]

i love how the music makes you wanna close your eyes and go on a spiritual journey. amazing musicians!

[@Strongeralways]

A pleasure to watch this moses, thank you sm! Very Inspirational

[@I_am_A_Runaway_Cookie]

2 far gone ... is just like the rain to me 🥰🥰 so lovely beautiful 🥰🥰🥰

[@shnootch]

gorgeous use of effects with the sax. everyone playing beautifully

[@lairdhercules4553]

This was some nasty jazz. It had everything, tight yet unpredictable rhythms that still kept the groove, emotional sax, keys and guitar. Just..wow. thank you! Melodies and effects reminiscent of Roy Hargrove. Bless.

[@jimjimjimjimjim6572]

such a slow underlying harmonic structure during the solos gives so much space to unfold their flippin......tsunami of sploosh. epic togetherness.

[@tomas5376]

Diggin” British jazz! Cooooooool sounds👍✌️😊🙏🏼🎶🎵🎶🎵🎵🎵🎶🎶🎵🎶

[@ronshina4022]

0:01 Stranger Than Fiction 6:50 2 Far Gone 14:51 BTB

[@LiquidDom]

Like a good friend once told me: "Moses splits your mind like he split the red sea!"

[@pianomarksman]

I know Femi and Joe have already been on here on separate projects, but it'd be great to get Ezra Collective on here! Also the Yussef Dayes Trio...

[@Free-uw4jl]

Great stuff! I had never heard of Moses Boyd before this discovery. There are so many fabulous musicians out there.

[@MJorgy5]

No elevator will ever be the same. Groovy as all, Fellas. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@nahuel1841]

Moses Boyd, Richard Spaven and Yussef Dayes, uk you are doing a great job!

[@liamcampbell-carpenter]

Ashley Henry and Nubya Garcia are two other great UK musicians

[@bkalexis0410]

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥Nuff love and appreciation from NYC❣️

[@subsuume]

so much amazing jazz comin out of the uk rn, thanks for the beautiful music moses and co

[@dos_mas_805]

That kick pattern that starts at 8:13 is wicked!!!

[@PentameronSV]

0:00 - *Stranger Than Fiction* 6:50 - *2 Far Gone* (14:25) 14:51 - *BTB* [19:34 - Tiny Desk team]

[@ThePookie25]

I could listen to this all day

[@niju369]

2 far gone has so many parallels to cory henrys solo in mingus. love it

[@january2798]

Always thought that playing drums would be a great way to relieve tension. Lots of talent here.

[@andycordy5190]

Wow! For such a young man he really knows how to put it all together. A real treasure on the scene.

[@AufdemLaufenden777]

That beats by the drummer are sooo sick

[@robertamerson2]

This is my first listen. My ears are in love!!!

[@DigzGuy]

I don't know how many times I've hit the rewind button! Wow!

[@orkunsanal]

7:40 what a recovery!

[@blackcosmos]

Pure Bliss...Heaven must be like this 🏵️🌿

[@ShortP1089]

what an amazing band. i dig absolutely everything. also that sax-sound is MOIST.

[@lukeraddonjackson6409]

This has opened my mind

[@downtofun]

First time listening to this group and I’m SUPER into it!

[@tommycaipanofsteel4431]

Sweet, tasty and freaking amazing, Love it , right to my soul!!

[@Fyz1993]

came just to check it out, stay till the end. great stuff!

[@eagereyes]

Wow, fantastic! Perfect for a rainy Friday morning.

[@Tubolicious82]

I need to see Kendrick Lamar in the studio with these cats. Music would be off the charts.

[@fiddygd8304]

I'd love to see Moses work with some legends from the UK grime scene. Fusing jazz and grime is a no-brainer and could create some amazing results.

[@RayasNegroOvejas]

@@fiddygd8304 Yes, you probably heard Ezra Collective's second version of their tune Quest For Coin with Swindle and JME ?

[@Ttwistapaite]

Some of the UKs finest

[@bookerbooker6317]

bloody marvelous

[@TeamElements1]

Thoroughly enjoyed this

[@evantornquist7673]

Amazing! That camera work though. Left to be desired. Some of the strangest camera angles. Rarely gets the action you want to see. Example, guitar solo on first song, you only see his face, his back, and a tiny bit of his right hand.

[@morkmon]

I'm guessing that there was an additional camera, but that the video was unusable or something, the saxophone shots are also really really dark.

[@evantornquist7673]

@@morkmon makes sense!

[@Manunka124]

Amazing musicians! The great work with sound and impressions! Music in their souls!

[@santiagoyurrita]

SICK

[@willow9719]

Omg amazing... that drummer makes it all

[@godsonbrowne]

Yess!! First time hearing you and I'm now a fan. Thanks NPR.

[@Hannah-eg7vl]

So good already

[@Brigogie]

Amazing drums 🤙🎵🥢🎵🥢

[@roryd__]

Moses the goat

[@DazzLightburn]

I'm still struggling with 7:40 Accidents don't look that smooth...my God 🙏🏾

[@LiamBaileyMusic]

💥💥💥🤣🤣🤣 Mad ting

[@devinbrewer8956]

I once did something exactly like that on accident on video as well lol you could see it on my face I was shook 😂😂

[@jonathanfletcher9533]

This funk is getting me thu the night just fine, smooth as

[@sunnytaproom]

Masterful! I salute this Jazz cat😎🎺

[@rubensgianfaldoni1957]

Pessoal do Brasil por aqui? Que tal essa última música, uma mistura de frevo e tudo de bom do Norte/Nordeste do Brasil!!! VIVA JAZZ!

[@nicolasdefeudi7311]

I was waiting for it! Thanks NPR

[@anwarmarshall6336]

Right on Moses!!!!!!!

[@SelgaStudios]

I love me some crispy drums!! 😍

[@TuYolPol]

Magnifique, généreux, et attracteur de bonnes oreilles en commentaire !

[@scottbathgate3144]

Incredible

[@AlineSanchezRamirezBaruc-xm6qb]

⛓

[@AlineSanchezRamirezBaruc-xm6qb]

Here, sweetie ❤ I am here. I love you all

[@user-qf1wq1uf6e]

Incredible bass vibes on synths...

[@whoisgraphene]

this was amazing! Much needed

[@rubinrandel276]

Sooooooo smoooooth.........yes

[@1marttie]

Slamming!!! For real! Thank you.

[@peterlarkin762]

Exquisite musicianship.

[@RobertSlover]

that drummer!

[@gooderdrums]

Wow, I'm so happy this came up on my feed!

[@marjorievandyke8243]

These guys are fantastic!

[@grozdinapetrowic4323]

It‘s fridayyyyy🥁🥁🥁🥁🎷

[@maroramos23]

this was so good! incredible!

[@juanfrancoyu]

Now we're talking! Great reco :-)

[@davida825]

Just wow!

[@uelintonrobertosampaio1227]

A memoria de Fela Kuti agradece. Grande som.

[@Brigogie]

Brilliant 👌🎵🥢🥢

[@jni9362]

Wow what a set!!

[@meditationandstudymusic9506]

This is lovely, thank you for sharing! You are great, i hope you find happieness, you deserve all good things

[@thevinylist]

Beautiful.

[@ChrisLee-yr7tz]

7:40 Good catch

[@abelartist7122]

watching at 3am just had to watch it all!

[@agustina7884]

i need a tiny desk (home) from WALLOWS!!!!

[@devidwhite4768]

This is sick!

[@positiveenergy4131]

🎶Mo Better Blues🎶

[@RayEstaireMusic]

Beautiful

[@RayasNegroOvejas]

Oo, never comment before I've watched at least some of the video, but this will be nice… would love to see Binker and Moses play at the actual tiny desk…sometime in the future.

[@Esmael822]

mad drumming

[@adamsalvatore5039]

These guys don't breathe!

[@guilhermelinha]

thats just too good

[@lekkerlekker5760]

that was incredible!

[@julesdrums6167]

That was kickass

[@MegaNeskazhu]

Top top top!

[@iyerakhil]

insaneee

[@xrplew1236]

WOW. That was exquisite.

[@ngocn2421]

london jazz scene