Lily Dior

In the opinion of many, Lily Dior is the finest jazz vocalist in London. An expat Australian now settled here, she comes with an impressive and extensive cv. Her debut album ‘Invitation’ received universal praise and put Lily firmly on the Australian music map. "She can belt out a song, dramatize a lyric, swing hard and earthy, flirt, sing a tender song - Lily can tell a story" ABC. In what is now an extensive and highly respected career Lily is recognized as one of Australia’s foremost vocalists, performing at major festivals and venues around the world, including performances in New York, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and of course London. The music tonight will primarily showcase Lily's jazz credentials as she presents some new material plus arrangements of songs from the classic American Songbook with a "groove" twist, all performed with the powerful and charismatic vocals that are Lily’s trademark. As Jazzwise magazine put it, in Lily's voice we hear "ultra-precise articulation with an irresistibly sultry, yearning tone". Her Rolls Royce band at Off the Rails features Tim Lapthorn (piano), Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Rod Youngs (drums) - plus special guest Dave Lewis on tenor sax.
 

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Rob Luft is an award-winning 29-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 received the 2nd Prize in the Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition at Montreux Jazz Festival. His debut album, “Riser”, was released on Edition Records in 2017 to widespread acclaim from European media. The Guardian wrote that it’s a “very sophisticated debut, but given Luft’s old-soul achievements since his early teens, we should have heard it coming”. On the back of this success, Rob was nominated for a string of awards – Breakthrough Act in the Jazz FM Awards, Instrumentalist of the Year in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards and in May 2019, Rob was selected as a BBC New Generation Jazz Artist. His eagerly-awaited second album, “Life is the Dancer”, was released in 2020 on Edition Records to critical acclaim and in the same year he made his debut appearance on ECM Records, releasing a collaborative album with Elina Duni, “Lost Ships”.

Concert highlights for Rob include performances with artists including Django Bates, The Cinematic Orchestra, The BBC Concert Orchestra & Manu Katché. Rob is also a regular member of some of Britain’s finest modern jazz groups, such as The John Surman Quartet & The Iain Ballamy Quintet.  “So young and so talented!” commented Jamie Cullum on BBC Radio 2, and we agree! Tonight he is joined by his regular quartet Joe Wright (tenor saxophone), Tom McCredie (bass) and Corrie Dick (drums).

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