Rob Luft (born November 1993) is an English jazz guitarist and composer from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom. He has released two albums, ''Riser'' & ''Life Is The Dancer'', as a solo artist on British label Edition Records.

Biography

Luft was born in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. Before ...

, Greater London, and attended

The Judd School The Judd School (often known simply as Judd) is a voluntary aided grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present ...

from 2005 to 2012. While at this school, he joined the

National Youth Jazz Orchestra The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. In 2010. Mark Armstrong took over as Music Director of the flagship performing band, and Artistic Director of the organisation; Bill Ashton becam ...

of Great Britain (2010–2015). He then enrolled at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

where, upon graduation, he was the recipient of the Kenny Wheeler Music Prize in association with Edition Records. In 2016, he was awarded the 2nd prize in the guitar competition at

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, adjudicated by

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

. His debut album as a bandleader was released in 2017 and was warmly received with four star reviews in ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', '' 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 COVID-19 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 Laura Jurd (born 1990) is a musician and composer from Hampshire, United Kingdom. She plays trumpet and synthesizer. She has released albums as a solo artist, and she plays in a jazz quartet named Dinosaur, whose album '' Together, As One'' was ...

Loose Tubes Loose Tubes were a British jazz big band/orchestra active during the mid-to-late 1980s. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the band was considered to be the focal point of a 1980s renaissance in British jazz. It was the main launchpad for the ...

Byron Wallen Byron Wallen (born July 1969) is a British jazz trumpeter, composer and educator. He was described by ''Jazzwise'' as "one of the most innovative, exciting and original trumpet players alive". As characterised by ''All About Jazz'', "He does not ...

, Tommy Smith and

Iain Ballamy Iain Ballamy (born 20 February 1964) is a British composer and saxophonist. He is considered one of the greatest modern jazz saxophonists. Career Ballamy was born in Guildford, Surrey, and educated at George Abbot School, Guildford, from 1975 ...

. 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 and as the "Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year" in the

Parliamentary Jazz Awards The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK politica ...

."Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018 Nominees Announced"
''Jazzwise Magazine''.

Discography

As leader/co-leader As sideman

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luft, Rob English jazz guitarists English male guitarists English jazz composers 1993 births Living people 21st-century British guitarists Male jazz composers 21st-century British male musicians ECM Records artists Edition Records artists