Jacob Collier

Collier worked across singer, composer, record producer, musician and music arranger and 2 further recorded occupations. The registers place that work in jazz and funk. This article rests on 86 catalogued compositions, 62 issued recordings, 2 digitised documents and 34 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

Jacob Collier studied at Purcell School for Young Musicians. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is music, singing and arrangement. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are jazz and funk. Places of work recorded in the authority are England. Distinctions recorded are Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals, Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella and honorary doctor of the Berklee College of Music.

• Name — Jacob Collier • Birth Name — Jacob Moriarty • Born — 2 August 1994 • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • multi-instrumentalist • record producer • Years Active — 2002–present • Website — jacobcollier.com • Genre — * Jazz • rhythm and blues • folk • avant-garde • jazz fusion • experimental pop • Instruments — * Vocals • keyboards • guitar • double bass • bass guitar • drums • percussion • ukulele • harpejji • melodica • Label — * Interscope • Hajanga

Jacob Collier (né Moriarty) was born on 2 August 1994. He grew up in North London with two younger sisters. His mother, Suzie Collier, is a violinist, conductor, and professor at the Royal Academy of Music's Junior Academy. His maternal grandfather, Derek Collier, was a violinist who taught at the Royal Academy and performed with orchestras around the world. Jacob Collier has said: "We sing Bach chorales together as family—it's just so much fun." He is of Chinese descent through his maternal grandmother, Leila Wong. At 10, Collier portrayed Tiny Tim in the Arthur Allan Seidelman film A Christmas Carol (2004). At the same time he was performing as a treble singer in classical roles, like one of the three boys in Mozart's The Magic Flute and Miles in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw, which influenced his use and understanding of harmony. Of Britten's harmonic language, he said, "My mind was shattered outwards." Collier attended Mill Hill County High School in north London, and the Purcell School for Young Musicians in Bushey, Hertfordshire. He briefly studied jazz piano at the Royal Academy.

Collier began uploading homemade, multi-instrumental content to YouTube in 2011 with a vocal arrangement of "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and in 2013 a multi-instrumental rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing". The videos presented split-screen multitrack recordings of Collier singing each part of the arrangements' harmonies. These videos gained attention with the "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" cover receiving millions of views. His musical activity caught the attention of Quincy Jones, who flew Collier to the Montreux Jazz Festival where he was introduced to Herbie Hancock. In 2015, Collier launched a live show and toured Europe and the US. The performances featured a circle of musical instruments, with six simultaneous looping stations capable of simultaneous playback, backed by synced real-time 3D-captured video loops, projected onto a screen behind the instruments. Central to the show was a custom-built vocal "Harmonizer" instrument that enabled Collier to sing multi-voice harmonies in real-time. The show debuted at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London, and Collier later opened for Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea at the 2015 Montreux Jazz Festival.

In July 2015, Beats by Dr. Dre asked Collier to provide music for "The Game Starts Here" England Rugby World Cup campaign commercial. Collier recorded an a cappella version of the hymn "Jerusalem" for the commercial, which was shown on national television before each England match. • Illustration — Jacob Collier's live solo show in Montreux, Switzerland, July 2015 In late 2015, Collier began preparing his debut album In My Room after performing with WDR Big Band in a concert in Cologne, Germany. He wrote eight of the eleven songs and arranged, recorded and produced the album in the music room of his family home, playing every instrument himself. He recorded and mixed the album over three months. The album was mastered by Bernie Grundman and released on 1 July 2016 through independent record label Membran Entertainment Group. Collier embarked on a one-man world tour which included the 2016 Montreux Jazz Festival. In anticipation of the album's release, Collier launched the "#IHarmU" campaign through Patreon. 100 patrons sent him 15-second video clips of melodies, which he harmonised with vocal parts on his multi-screen layout and uploaded to social media. Collier received more than 130 melodies and donations, including from British jazz artist Jamie Cullum, Ben Folds, Herbie Hancock, and Kevin Olusola of the a cappella group Pentatonix. He arranged "White Christmas" for them; it appeared on A Pentatonix Christmas and won a Contemporary A Cappella Society award for Best Professional Arrangement by a Non-Scholastic Group. In February 2016, Collier was featured on Snarky Puppy's album Family Dinner – Volume 2, playing "Don't You Know." On 22 August, he took part in a Quincy Jones tribute concert at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London, in which he performed, among others, his orchestral arrangement of his original song "In The Real Early Morning" with the Metropole Orkest, conducted by Jules Buckley. In December 2016, Collier collaborated with 150 students at MIT to produce a live concert in Kresge Auditorium, titled "Imagination Off the Charts", playing alongside orchestral arrangements of his repertoire. This residency was the subject of a documentary film, Imagination Off The Charts, which won a regional Emmy in June 2018. In February 2017, Collier won two Grammy Awards for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for the Stevie Wonder song "You and I", and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals for a cover of "Flintstones". In March he made his US television debut on The Tavis Smiley Show, performing "You and I" with jazz-gospel a cappella group Take 6. Collier re-composed Samsung's signature ringtone, "Over The Horizon", for the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+, and was co-producer on two songs from Becca Stevens' album Regina. He helped to score the DreamWorks' film The Boss Baby with composer Hans Zimmer. He performed with Zimmer and Pharrell Williams at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Collier toured internationally for two and a half years between 1 July 2015 and 18 December 2017, while hosting masterclasses and performances with orchestras and big bands around the world, including the Metropole Orkest. On 9 July, he and Cory Henry performed with the Metropole Orkest and Jules Buckley at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In July 2018, he was one of the guests at Quincy Jones' 85th birthday party celebrations at the Montreux Jazz Club. On 19 July, "Jacob Collier and Friends" performed as part of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

• Illustration — Collier performing at the New Frontier Theater in Manila, Philippines, June 2025 On 29 October 2018, Collier announced a new four-volume, 50-song musical project, titled Djesse. He titled it as such as a reference to his initials: JC (Djesse, with a silent "D", is pronounced like "JC"). Djesse Vol. 1 was released in full on 7 December, and featured the singles "With The Love in My Heart", "Ocean Wide, Canyon Deep" and "All Night Long". The volume features collaborations with various artists and includes The Metropole Orkest on every track. Collier produced, arranged, and orchestrated the music, in addition to singing and playing various instruments. In January 2019, Collier embarked on a world tour in support of the Djesse series. Djesse Vol. 2 was released on 19 July 2019, featuring musical collaborations with various artists as well as an a cappella arrangement of "Moon River" with over a hundred vocal contributions from family members, mentors, friends, and other collaborators. At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Djesse Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 each won a Grammy award for "All Night Long" and "Moon River", respectively. Also in 2019, Collier provided backing vocals for several tracks on Coldplay's eighth studio album, Everyday Life. Djesse Vol. 3, released on 14 August 2020, features collaborations with various artists and received several Grammy nominations in 2021. It was nominated for the Album of the Year, and the single "All I Need" was nominated for Best R&B Performance. "He Won't Hold You" won Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals, making Collier the first British artist to win a Grammy Award for each of his first four albums. In November 2020, Collier released the book Songs of Jacob Collier, featuring solo piano and vocal arrangements for 19 of his compositions. Collier co-wrote and provided background vocals for SZA's single "Good Days," released on 25 December 2020. He also contributed background vocals to Coldplay and BTS's "My Universe", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2021. This track is part of Coldplay's ninth album Music of the Spheres, which also features Collier on the track "Human Heart." In 2022, he collaborated with British rapper Stormzy on the album This Is What I Mean. Collier received two nominations at the 65th Grammy Awards: Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals for his single "Never Gonna Be Alone" and Album Of The Year for his contributions to Music of The Spheres. Additionally, he appeared in Olivia Rodrigo's documentary film Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U as one of the special guests. On 2 May 2022, Collier was the subject of Alan Yentob's BBC One television documentary series Imagine..., in the episode Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens. On 29 September 2022, Collier released his first live album, Piano Ballads (Live From The Djesse World Tour 2022), which includes 11 covers largely improvised by Collier on stage, many of which involve a spontaneous audience choir. On 8 December 2023, Collier performed "Last Christmas" at the Royal Christmas Concert at Westminster Abbey. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Collier won the Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals award for "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning". He also performed at the Grammy Awards ceremony, playing "Both Sides Now" with Joni Mitchell, Brandi Carlile, Allison Russell, SistaStrings, Blake Mills, and Lucius. Djesse Vol. 4 was released on 29 February 2024. The singles include "Little Blue", featuring Brandi Carlile; "Wherever I Go", "Witness Me", "Mi Corazón", and a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". That same year, he collaborated with Aurora on a mashup of his song "A Rock Somewhere" and her "The Seed", performed in the Arctic to raise awareness for ocean and climate protection. On 9 October 2024, Collier released Djesse Vol. 4 (Deluxe), which contains all tracks from the original release along with four additional tracks "to conclude the journey of Djesse".

On 10 September 2025, Jacob Collier announced a new album The Light for Days, which released on 10 October 2025. Collier stated that "since completing the Djesse album series, one of the things I've most wanted to focus on, and explore deeply, is the limitation of a single instrument." To that end, The Light for Days is the result of a self-imposed challenge to write a full-length album in just four days, using only his voice and his unique 5-string guitar, an instrument that he conceptualized and helped to create. Because of the extremely short timeline, Collier mentioned, "I had to work so fast that I couldn't second-guess anything – I just had to roll with and trust the process." In May 2026, Berklee College and New York University awarded him an honorary degree.

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions • Title — Album details — Peak chart positions • US Heat. — US Indie — US Cont. Jazz — US Jazz — US Classical — US Classical Cross. — US Folk Sales • In My Room — * Released: 1 July 2016 * Label: Membran * Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — 10 — 50 — 1 — 3 — — — — — — • Djesse Vol. 1 (with the Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley) — * Released: 7 December 2018 * Label: Hajanga Records, Geffen Records, Decca Records * Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — 14 — — — 1 — 6 — 6 — 6 — — • Djesse Vol. 2 — * Released: 19 July 2019 * Label: Hajanga, Geffen, Decca * Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — — — — — — — — — — — — — 18 • Djesse Vol. 3 — * Released: 14 August 2020 * Label: Hajanga * Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • Djesse Vol. 4 — * Released: 29 February 2024 * Label: Hajanga * Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • The Light for Days — * Released: 10 October 2025 * Label: Hajanga * Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.

List of live albums, with selected details • Title — Details • Piano Ballads (Live from the Djesse World Tour 2022) — * Released: 29 September 2022 * Label: Decca * Format: Digital download, streaming

List of extended plays, with selected details • Title — Details • Pure Imagination -the hit covers collection- — * Released: 20 September 2017 (in Japan only) * Label: P-VINE Records * Format: CD, Digital download, streaming • Jacobean Essentials — * Released: 18 December 2020 * Label: Hajanga * Format: Digital download, streaming • Jacobean Chill — * Released: 25 December 2020 * Label: Hajanga * Formats: Digital download, streaming • Three Christmas Songs - An Abbey Road Live To Vinyl Cut — * Released: 22 November 2024 * Label: Hajanga * Formats: Vinyl, Digital download, streaming

• Title — Year — Writer(s) — Ref. References • "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" — 2013 — Stevie Wonder • "Fascinating Rhythm" — 2014 — George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin (lyrics) • "Close to You" — Burt Bacharach, Hal David • "One Day" (performed with Nikki Yanofsky) — 2015 — Jacob Collier, Nikki Yanofsky • "Jerusalem" — Hubert Parry, William Blake (poem) • "In the Bleak Midwinter" — 2016 — Harold Darke, Christina Rossetti (poem) • "Bathtub" (featuring Becca Stevens) — 2017 — Jacob Collier, Becca Stevens • "I Love Being Here With You" (Soundtrack for the All-New Electric Fiat 500 campaign) — 2020 — Bill Schluger, Peggy Lee • "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" — Mel Tormé, Robert Wells • "The Sun Is In Your Eyes" — 2021 — Jacob Collier • "Flow Freely" (From the Film "Reflection: A Walk with Water") (with Justin Kauflin) — Jacob Collier, Justin Kauflin • "Fix You" (Live for There With Care) — Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, Will Champion

• Title — Year — Other artist(s) — Album — Ref. References — Notes • "In The Thick Of It" — 2013 — Jason Rebello — Anything But Look • "Circle Song" — 2015 — Misha Mullov-Abbado — New Ansonia • "Lock, Stock & Shuffle" • "Real Eyes Realise Real Lies" • "New Ansonia" • "Satan, Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas" • "Ode To King Michael" • "Heal Me On This Cloudy Day" • "September" • "Just Another Love Song" • "For the Longest Time" — Natalie Williams — Kaleidoscope • "Don't You Know" — 2016 — Snarky Puppy, Big Ed Lee — Family Dinner – Volume 2 • "Señor Blues" — Dominick Farinacci — Short Stories • "Somebody That I Used to Know" • "Tomorrow (A Better You, a Better Me)" — John Aram, Rootwords, The Children of the International School of Geneva • "White Christmas" (Arrangement) — Pentatonix, The Manhattan Transfer — A Pentatonix Christmas • "Both Still Here" — 2017 — Becca Stevens — Regina • "As" • "Drive (live)" — Open Road (Amazon Original) • "She's Gotta Be Somewhere" (Backing vocals) — David Crosby — Sky Trails • "Under the Sea" — Jazz Loves Disney 2 - A kind Of Magic • "Silent Night" — Justin Kauflin — Silent Night • "Restore the Feeling" — 2019 — Daniel Caesar, Sean Leon — Case Study 01 • "Church" (Backing vocals) — Coldplay — Everyday Life — Also co-writer • "Cry Cry Cry" (Backing vocals) • "Everyday Life" (Backing vocals) • "Slow Burn" — 2020 — Becca Stevens — Wonderbloom • "Noelle" — JoJo — December Baby • "Good Days" (Backing vocals) — SZA — SOS — Also co-writer • "Higher Power(acoustic version)" (Piano) — 2021 — Coldplay • "Blue Straggler" (Backing vocals) — Mark Lettieri, Travis Toy — Deep:The Baritone Sessions Vol.2 • "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" — James Marsden, Ariana Greenblatt — The Boss Baby: Family Business (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • "Independent Girl" — Jonah Nilsson — Now Or Never • "Altar" (Backing vocals) — Kehlani — Blue Water Road — Also co-writer • "My Universe" (Backing vocals) — Coldplay, BTS — Music of the Spheres • "Human Heart" — Coldplay, We Are King • "Reflection" (Backing vocals) — Terrace Martin, James Fauntleroy — DRONES • "erase me" — Lizzy McAlpine — Five Seconds Flat • "roses in the rain (lullaby)" (Backing vocals) — Christina Perri — songs for rosie • "Old Memories (Unlocked)" (Backing vocals and piano) — Alicia Keys — Keys — Also co-writer • "Thalamus Canticum" — Stian Carstensen — Musical Sanatorium • "Champions" (Backing vocals) — 2022 — Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa — Also co-writer, co-composer • "Motion" — Gabriel Grossi, Seamus Blake — Plural — Also co-writer, co-composer • "Where Do We All Go" (Backing vocals) — Tank and the Bangas — Red Balloon — Also co-writer, co-composer • "Fire + Water" (Backing vocals) — Stormzy — This Is What I Mean • "This Is What I Mean" (Backing vocals) — Stormzy, Black Sherif, Amaarae, Ms Banks, Storry — Also co-writer, co-composer • "Firebabe" (Backing vocals) — Stormzy, Debbie • "Please" (Backing vocals and keyboard) — Stormzy • "Sampha's Plea" (Keyboard) — Stormzy, Sampha • "I Got My Smile Back" (Backing vocals) — Stormzy, India Arie — Also co-writer, co-composer • "Give It To The Water" (Backing vocals) — Stormzy, Debbie • "If a tree falls in love with a river" — 2023 — Lau Noah — A Dos • "Always" — Victor Franco — Self Portrait • "Yes Man" (Backing vocals and villiette guitars) — Victoria Canal, S. Carey — WELL WELL • "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" — säje — säje • "Hello You" (Backing vocals) — 2024 — Mr Cutts — Postcards — Also co-writer, co-composer • "I'm So Happy" (Backing vocals) • "Found You First" (Backing vocals and keyboard) — Alec Benjamin • "Tangerine Rays" (Backing vocals) — ZEDD, Ellise, Bea Miller — Telos • "JUPiTER" (Backing vocals) — Coldplay — Moon Music — Also co-composer • "AETERNA" (Backing vocals) • "A Wave" (Backing vocals) — Coldplay, Jon Hopkins — Moon Music (Full Moon Edition) • "Better Man" (Backing vocals, guitar, harp, piano) — 2025 — Robbie Williams — Better Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • "From" (Backing vocals) — Bon Iver — Sable, Fable

As Jacob Moriarty • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2006 — The Virgin Queen — Little Boy — Episode 1

As Jacob Moriarty • Year — Production — Role — Theatre — Reference(s) • 2002 — Wozzeck — Child — Royal Opera House • 2007 — The Magic Flute — First Boy — London Coliseum • The Turn of the Screw — Miles

Jacob Collier is recorded with the occupation record producer. Recorded with the occupation music arranger. Recorded as singer, composer, record producer, musician and music arranger.

Collier comes from a family of musicians and was introduced to music at an early age. With the support of his mother, he learned to play various instruments and became acquainted with musical concepts. His recording career began in the family home, in a room filled with instruments where his mother used to teach violin lessons. He recorded himself singing and playing instruments, mostly covers of jazz standards or pop songs, using a split screen recording technique to display his vocals, and uploaded the recordings to YouTube. The videos featured use of reharmonisation, close harmony, dissonance, microtonality, and polyrhythms. His more recent releases, which were also uploaded to streaming services, featured unconventional musical elements such as microtonality and complex chords and progressions, as well as sudden key and time signature changes. His style blended classical music with modern jazz, pop and R&B, experimental music, and synthwave.

Jacob Collier received Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella in 2020. Collier received Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals in 2021. Collier received honorary doctor of the Berklee College of Music in 2026.

• Year — Category — Work — Result — Ref • 2017 — Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals — "Flintstones" • Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella — "You and I" • 2020 — "Moon River" • Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals — "All Night Long" • 2021 — "He Won't Hold You" • Album of the Year — Djesse Vol. 3 • Best R&B Performance — "All I Need" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign & Mahalia) • 2022 — Best R&B Song — "Good Days" (with Solána Rowe, Carlos Núñez Muñoz, Carter Lang, and Christopher Ruelas) • Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals — "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" • 2023 — Album of the Year — Music of the Spheres (by Coldplay) • Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals — "Never Gonna Be Alone" • 2024 — "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (with Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor) • 2025 — Album of the Year — Djesse Vol. 4 • Best Global Music Performance — "A Rock Somewhere" (featuring Anoushka Shankar & Varijashree Venugopal) • Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella — "Bridge over Troubled Water" (with John Legend and Tori Kelly) • 2026 — Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals — "Keep An Eye On Summer"

• Year — Category — Result — Ref • 2016 — Breakout Artist of the Year • Digital Initiative of the Year (Sponsored by 7digital) • 2019 — PRS For Music Gold Award • 2020 — The Digital Award

• Year — Category — Result — Ref • 2016 — Best JAZZ Act

• Year — Category — Work — Result — Ref • 2025 — Best Live Video — "A Rock Somewhere" x "The Seed" (for Greenpeace) (with Aurora)