Jacob Collier, the Grammys’ Surprise Album of the Year Nominee (Again), on Learning From Quincy Jones and Where He Landed With ‘Djesse Vol. 4’
variety.comA.D. Amorosi As he was with the 2021 Grammys and “Djesse Vol. 3,” Jacob Collier is, again, up for album of the year, this time courtesy of his spiky, soul-filled “Djesse Vol.
4.” While his first AOTY nom found the wunderkind one-man-band up against a mixed bag of female and male greats (Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” won that year), for 2025, Collier is surrounded by women (Swift again, Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX), plus one flute player in André 3000.
To state that the 30-year-old Londoner (who does have six Grammy wins to his name) is a fan of his fellow 2025 nominees can’t say enough about his devotion to music of all stripes.
Playing virtuoso-level jazz piano and singing opera since 10 (his mother is renowned violinist-conductor Suzie Collier), Collier made a YouTube splash in 2011 with complex vocal (and video panel) arrangements of “Pure Imagination” and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.” The latter Stevie Wonder cover caught the attention of Quincy Jones, who began mentoring and managing Jacob soon afterwards.
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