Rob Luft (born November 1993) is an English jazz guitarist and composer from London, United Kingdom. He has released three albums, Riser, Life Is The Dancer & Dahab Days, as a solo artist on British label Edition Records. His playing has also been documented on several albums released by the German jazz label ECM Records, most notably on John Surman's 2024 release Words Unspoken.
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.Rob Luft Official Website. Retrieved 15 October 2018. In 2016, he was awarded the second prize in the guitar competition at Montreux Jazz Festival, adjudicated by John McLaughlin.Montreux Jazz Festival Press Release. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
His debut album as a bandleader was released in 2017 and was warmly received with four star reviews in The Guardian,Fordham, John (27 July 2017), "Guitar virtuoso makes enticingly vivacious debut", The Guardian. The Irish Times,Larkin, Cormac (July 27, 2017), "Rob Luft - An original guitarist to be prized", Irish Times. 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, which was received with critical acclaim. 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 the world's leading modern jazz artists & groups, including Django Bates, John Surman, Manu Katché, Arve Henriksen, Avishai Cohen (trumpeter), Ben Wendel and The Cinematic Orchestra. 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 "Jazz FM Awards 2018, Nominees Announced", News, Jazz FM Awards, 27 February 2018. and as the "Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year" in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards."Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018 Nominees Announced", Jazzwise Magazine. He was selected as a BBC New Generation Jazz Artist 2019-2022 & in November 2023 he performed his self-penned concerto for electric guitar & symphony orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra as part of the London Jazz Festival.
He has collaborated with Swiss-Albanian singer Elina Duni, releasing two albums on ECM Records, Lost Ships & A Time To Remember, the latter of which was awarded "Jazz Album Of The Month" in The Guardian newspaper upon release in June 2023. Duni & Luft often appear in a pared-back duo format of guitar & voice, and the pair have toured throughout Europe, the Americas & the Far East, having given sold-out shows in New York at Le Poisson Rouge (formerly The Village Gate), Montreux Jazz Festival & Cairo Jazz Festival, Egypt.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
Year Title Label Personnel 2015 Encuentro Self-release as Deco Ensemble; with Bartosz Głowacki (accordion), Sabina Rakcheyeva (violin), Ricardo Gosalbo (piano), Elena Marigómez (bass) 2017 Pond Life Big Bad Records as Big Bad Wolf; with Owen Dawson (trombone, synthesiser), Michael De Souza (Fender Bass VI), Jay Davis (drums) 2017 Riser Edition Records with Joe Wright (sax), Joe Webb (keyboards), Tom McCredie (bass), Corrie Dick (drums) 2019 O'Higgins & Luft Play Monk & Trane Ubuntu Music with Dave O'Higgins (tenor sax), Scott Flanigan (organ), Rod Youngs (drums) 2020 Life Is The Dancer Edition Records with Joe Wright (sax), Byron Wallen (trumpet), Luna Cohen (backing vocals), Joe Webb (keyboards), Tom McCredie (bass), Corrie Dick (drums) 2020 Lost Ships ECM Records with Elina Duni (voc), Matthieu Michel (flugelhorn), Fred Thomas (piano; drums) 2023 A Time To Remember ECM Records with Elina Duni (voc), Matthieu Michel (flugelhorn), Fred Thomas (piano; drums; viola da gamba)2023Dahab DaysEdition Recordswith Joe Wright (sax), Joe Webb (keyboards), Tom McCredie (bass), Corrie Dick (drums), Alice Zawadzki (vocals), Byron Wallen (trumpet), Steve Buckley (saxophone, whistle)
As sideman
Year Band/Leader Title Label 2012 National Youth Jazz Orchestra The Change Self-release 2015 Patrick Hayes Back To The Grove Self-release 2015 Enzo Zirilli ZiroBop UR Records 2015 National Youth Jazz Orchestra Fifty Whirlwind Recordings 2015 Liane Carroll Seaside Linn Records 2016 Luna Cohen November Sky Temps Record 2017 Misha Mullov-Abbado Cross-Platform Interchange Edition Records 2017 Phelan Burgoyne Trio Unquiet Quiet Pumpkin Records 2017 Tom Ridout No Excuses 33 Jazz Records 2017 Joy Ellis Life on Land F-IRE Collective 2018 Enzo Zirilli Ten To Late! UR Records 2018 Karen Lane Passarim 33 Jazz Records 2018 Scottish National Jazz Orchestra Sweet Sister Suite Spartacus Records2019Laura JurdStepping Back, Jumping InEdition Records 2020 Ellen Andrea Wang Closeness Ropeadope2022Corrie DickSun SwellsUbuntu2024John SurmanWords UnspokenECM Records
References
External links Official website