Moses Boyd (born 30 April 1991) is a British

jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques a ...

, composer, record producer, bandleader and radio host. His debut solo studio album ''

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'' (2020) was nominated for the 2020 Mercury Prize. In 2014, Boyd and saxophonist Binker Golding formed the duo Binker & Moses and released three consecutive albums, with accolades including one

MOBO Award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

, two Jazz FM Awards and a Parliamentary Jazz Award. In 2022, Binker & Moses released their fourth album, ''Feeding the Machine'', to critical acclaim. Boyd's self-titled jazz band Moses Boyd Exodus (also known as the Exodus) released several mixtapes in the mid-2010s and together have recorded most of Boyd's solo releases. The group consists of Theon Cross ( tubist), Artie Zaitz (guitarist), Binker Golding (saxophonist) and Nathaniel Cross (trombonist). Under his own label, Exodus Records, Boyd made his solo debut with the extended play ''Absolute Zero'' in 2017, and followed it up with ''Displaced Diaspora'' in 2018. He has additionally collaborated with musicians such as Beyoncé,

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, Zara McFarlane, Obongjayar,

Ed Motta Eduardo "Ed" Motta (; born August 17, 1971) is a Brazilian MPB, rock, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is the nephew of late singer-songwriter Tim Maia. Career Son of Luzia Motta, sister of Tim Maia and Antonio Motta, from an early age listened ...

, Sons of Kemet,

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and Theon Cross.

Early life

Boyd was born and raised in the district of

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

in south London. He describes himself as a "second-generation

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

" with Dominican descent from his father and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n descent from his mother. He attended Sedgehill School, which was where he began learning drums. Boyd claims that at one point he was taught drums by

Bobby Worth Bobby Worth (September 25, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio – July 17, 2002 in Mission Hills, California) was an American songwriter. His best known songs are "Do I Worry?", "'Til Reveille", "Tonight We Love", and "Don't You Know?". Worth was consi ...

. In 2016, he graduated from

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

in jazz drums. While at Trinity Laban, he took part of the jazz education programme Tomorrow's Warriors.

Other ventures

In addition to music, Boyd was a resident host throughout 2019 on BBC Radio 1Xtra. He also performed a few stints filling in for

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

in mid 2020.

Artistry and reception

Musical style

Boyd is popularly known for blending multiple genres into jazz to create various new sub-genres. He has been noted to perform and write in the styles of nu-jazz, and

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

, additionally incorporating elements of

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

, electronica,

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and wester ...

and

broken beat Broken beat (sometimes referred to as "bruk") is an electronic dance music genre characterized by syncopated beats and tense rhythms, including staggered or punctuated snare beats and/or hand claps. It has been heavily influenced by styles such a ...

. Boyd has described his own music as "an extension of black music, the diaspora" that draws influence from afrobeats, soca,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, drum and bass and

jungle music Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and ...

Critical reception

Boyd is known as a prominent figure within the modern London jazz scene. He has been described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as "a progenitor of the current London jazz scene", and "a poster boy of the London jazz revival."

Influences

Boyd has cited

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

's '' Kind of Blue'' and

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

's ''

Boy in Da Corner ''Boy in da Corner'' is the debut studio album by English rapper and producer Dizzee Rascal. It was first released on 21 July 2003 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom before being released the following year in the United States. A widesprea ...

'' as major influences. Boyd is closely associated with jazz personality and DJ

, whom he cites as an influence in learning how to "use jazz in

club culture Clubbing (also known as club culture, related to raving) is the activity of visiting and gathering socially at nightclubs (discotheques, discos or just clubs) and festivals. That includes socializing, listening to music, dancing, drinking alcohol ...

Discography

Studio albums

Collaborative albums

Extended plays

*''Absolute Zero'' (2017)

Mixtapes

* ''Footsteps Of Our Fathers'' (2015) *''Time and Space'' (2016)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Songwriting, production and performance credits

Adapted from

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

, and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Moses Living people 1991 births 21st-century English composers 21st-century drummers English jazz composers English jazz drummers British male jazz musicians Alumni of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Black British musicians BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters English people of Dominica descent English people of Jamaican descent 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century jazz composers Nu jazz musicians