Dave O'Higgins and Rob Luft Quartet

Dave O’Higgins - tenor sax

Rob Luft - guitar

Jim Watson - organ

Billy Pod - drums 

The line-up  is the classic organ combo, drawing on influences from George Benson, Joe Henderson, Grant Green, Michael Brecker and many more as a springboard for Luft’s lush soundscapes & O’Higgins’ impassioned tenor. Joining them on organ is the virtuosic Jim Watson, and the magically swinging drummer form Greece, Billy Pod.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Dave O’Higgins now has 26 albums as leader to his credit. His sax sound is very personal and recognisable, with a clear sense of melodic development and adventure. A popular performer with the public, with an excellent sense of pacing and presentation, he has a wide palette from Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson through to Stanley Turrentine and Michael Brecker. He has relentlessly pursued artistic exploration and development with a deep respect for the tradition of the music.

Dave is a highly regarded educator at the London College of Contemporary Music, where he is the Jazz Pathway Leader.

Rob Luft is an award-winning 31-year-old jazz guitarist from London whose virtuosity has been compared to that of six-string legends John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola & Paco De Lucia. He was the recipient of the 2016 Kenny Wheeler Prize from the Royal Academy of Music, and he also received the 2nd Prize in the 2016 Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition at Montreux Jazz Festival. His debut album, “Riser”, was released on Edition Records in 2017 to widespread acclaim from the European jazz media. 

John Fordham wrote in The Guardian that it’s a “very sophisticated debut, but given Luft’s old-soul achievements since his early teens, we should have heard it coming”.