Misha Mullov-Abbado in St John’s Smith Square Season

Misha Mullov-Abbado will take part in St John’s Smith Square’s Spring/Summer programme this year. In February the venue’s #ConcertLab series brings together classical and folk music while in May, Southbank Sinfonia teams up with jazz guitarist Rob Luft and Misha for an evening of jazz-classical fusion.

Thursday 30th May, 7pm

Rob Luft guitar
Misha Mullov-Abbado double bass
Corrie Dick drums
Southbank Sinfonia

Programme to include arrangements by Misha Mullov-Abbado and Rob Luft for jazz guitar, double bass, drums and orchestra, including:
Circle Song
Equinox
Red Earth
Traintracker
Staircase Music

Southbank Sinfonia teams up with two of London’s most prominent jazz instrumentalists for a classical fusion…

The first – 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 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”.

The second is award-winning, London-based jazz bass player, composer and arranger Misha Mullov-Abbado: a musician who combines great imagination with raw talent and a clear vision. A BBC New Generation Artist, with three critically acclaimed albums on Edition Records under his name, his most recent offering Dream Circus showcases his ‘melodic gift’ (John Fordham, The Guardian) and ability to masterfully combine beautifully-crafted compositions with free-spirited improvisation.

This concert will see Southbank Sinfonia perform a variety of compositions under the co-direction of the two musicians – once again, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved within the scope of ‘classical’ music.