Rob Luft is one of those rare musicians who has seldom put a career foot wrong, first coming to attention at the age of fifteen in the (UK) National Youth Jazz Orchestra. From then on he has regularly come to notice and although still in his early twenties he is now a musical force to be reckoned with. Anyone who has heard him play will know that the growing number of accolades are well deserved. As each year passes he garners fresh awards, last year, second place in the Montreux Jazz guitar competition and recently receiving the coveted Kenny Wheeler Award.

A little over a month ago, Luft released ‘Riser’ and it is hard to believe that this is a debut album. While incorporating a variety of Jazz guitar styles it is definitely forward-looking. Like many post-millennial improvisers, Luft reaches across styles and genres with ease. Mike Moreno and John McLaughlin are obvious reference points, but the album moves beyond such comparisons. His innate skills and good taste have enabled him to craft beautiful charts and out of this comes a unique sound. The first number of the album,’Night Songs’, is a cornucopia of wonders, a lesson in virtuosity, a seamless but ever-shifting voice of the London streets. The organ adding warmth, the rest of the band texture and heart, and Luft soaring above like a patrolling night-hawk. ‘Slow Potion’ has a dreamy surf guitar vibe, other tracks bubble with street life (Jamaican and African influences in evidence), while ‘Riser’ and ‘Different colours of silence’ invoke the more ambient hued Nordic Jazz. While the influences are varied the album has a strong cohesive feel, nothing is out-of-place here. Luft’s project has also benefited from his choice of band mates and from deft hands in the studio and the mastering. When he played in New Zealand last year, he wowed the audiences. Rumour has it that he will return next year. For updates keep an eye on JazzLocal32.com CJC Creative Jazz Club or Wellington Jazz Cooperative.

The artists: Rob Luft (guitars, compositions), Joe Wright (tenor saxophone), Joe Web (Hammond organ, piano, harmonium), Tom McCredie (bass), Corrie Dick (drums).

To sample or purchase the album visit Bandcamp www.robluft.bandcamp.com  or Google Edition Records Ltd UK.