Rob Luft

Rob Luft (born November 1993) is an English jazz guitarist and composer from London, United Kingdom. He has released two albums, Riser & Life Is The Dancer, as a solo artist on British label Edition Records.

Rob Luft
Background information
Born (1993-11-27) 27 November 1993
OriginSidcup, London, England
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, Composer
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active2012–present
LabelsEdition
Associated actsByron Wallen, Elina Duni, Alice Zawadzki, Eddie Parker, National Youth Jazz Orchestra
Websitewww.robluft.co.uk

Biography

Luft was born in Sidcup, Greater London, and attended The Judd School from 2005 to 2012. While at this school, he joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Great Britain (2010–2015). He then enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music where, upon graduation, he was the recipient of the Kenny Wheeler Music Prize in association with Edition Records.[1] In 2016, he was awarded the 2nd prize in the guitar competition at Montreux Jazz Festival, adjudicated by John McLaughlin.[2] His debut album as a bandleader was released in 2017 and was warmly received with four star reviews in The Guardian,[3] The Irish Times,[4] Jazzwise and Downbeat Magazine, who described it as "the most fully-realised and rewarding debut album from a guitarist-composer since Julian Lage's 2009 outing". He released his second album on Edition Records, Life Is The Dancer, in April 2020, in the midst of the global coronavirus lockdown. This eagerly anticipated sophomore album was also received to critical acclaim, with All About Jazz describing it as "balm for the soul" as well as stating that "every aspect of the album is sublime". He has also performed as a sideman with many of Britain's leading jazz artists, including Django Bates, Laura Jurd, Loose Tubes, Byron Wallen, Tommy Smith and Iain Ballamy. Luft was the recipient of the Peter Whittingham Award in 2015 as part of the co-led big band Patchwork Jazz Orchestra, and in 2018 he was nominated as the "Breakthrough Act of the Year" in the Jazz FM Awards [5] and as the "Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year" in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.[6]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

YearTitleLabelPersonnel
2015EncuentroSelf-releaseas Deco Ensemble; with Bartosz Głowacki (accordion), Sabina Rakcheyeva (violin), Ricardo Gosalbo (piano), Elena Marigómez (bass)
2017Pond LifeBig Bad Recordsas Big Bad Wolf; with Owen Dawson (trombone, synthesiser), Michael De Souza (Fender Bass VI), Jay Davis (drums)
2017RiserEdition Recordswith Joe Wright (sax), Joe Webb (keyboards), Tom McCredie (bass), Corrie Dick (drums)
2020Life Is The DancerEdition Recordswith Joe Wright (sax), Byron Wallen (trumpet), Luna Cohen (backing vocals), Joe Webb (keyboards), Tom McCredie (bass), Corrie Dick (drums)

As sideman

YearBand/LeaderTitleLabel
2012National Youth Jazz OrchestraThe ChangeSelf-release
2015Patrick HayesBack To The GroveSelf-release
2015Enzo ZirilliZiroBopUR Records
2015National Youth Jazz OrchestraFiftyWhirlwind Recordings
2015Liane CarrollSeasideLinn Records
2016Luna CohenNovember SkyTemps Record
2017Misha Mullov-AbbadoCross-Platform InterchangeEdition Records
2017Phelan Burgoyne TrioUnquiet QuietPumpkin Records
2017Tom RidoutNo Excuses33 Jazz Records
2017Joy EllisLife on LandF-IRE Collective
2018Enzo ZirilliTen To Late!UR Records
2018Karen LanePassarim33 Jazz Records
2018Scottish National Jazz OrchestraSweet Sister SuiteSpartacus Records
2020Ellen Andrea WangClosenessRopeadope

References
  1. Rob Luft Official Website. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. Montreux Jazz Festival Press Release. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  3. Fordham, John (27 July 2017), "Guitar virtuoso makes enticingly vivacious debut", The Guardian.
  4. Larkin, Cormac (July 27, 2017), "Rob Luft - An original guitarist to be prized", Irish Times.
  5. "Jazz FM Awards 2018, Nominees Announced", News, Jazz FM Awards, 27 February 2018.
  6. "Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018 Nominees Announced", Jazzwise Magazine.
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