Photo by dhillsphotography.

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PRESS FOR JEFF LOFTON

(podcast) JLQ plays "The Christmas Song" live on KLBJ FM Dudley and Bob Show, (Dec 4, 2009)

(video) Jeff Lofton Trio performs on KEYE (CBS) show We Are Austin (Dec 3, 2009)

(podcast) Live in Studio 1A, Music with Jay Trachtenberg, KUT 90.5 FM (Nov 05, 2009)
"... known for his unique blend of the old school and new styles of jazz, and critics have compared his sound to Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane..."

"Jazz to the People" Music Review, Austin Chronicle (Nov 27, 2009)
"...hits the bull's-eye on this sterling local debut that digs a deep groove... a sound that embraces the blues and swings passionately ... crafted a sound largely around Davis' formative quintet of the late 1950s. ...Lofton reinforces the Miles connection with the deft use of muted trumpet on soulful strutters "Headless Blues" and "A.I.M." ... Highlight "Herbie's Time" blows reminiscent of Lee Morgan's Blue Note hits of the mid-1960s. ... a delightfully swingin' affair."

Best Bet / Top Pick, Austin American-Statesman / Austin360.com (Nov 07, 2009)
"... who has made a big mark in the Austin jazz scene since moving to town in 2007 ... releases 'Jazz to the People' ... nine originals and interpretations of 'Georgia on My Mind' and 'Crazy'..."

Dale Dudley, Dudley and Bob Show, KLBJ 93.7 FM (Nov 06, 2009)
"... a great jazz musician..."

Best Bet / Top Pick, Austin American-Statesman / Austin360.com (Nov 13, 2009)
"... Lofton just released the terrific Jazz to the People... "

Joey V., Non-Breaking Space, KOOP 91.7 FM (Nov 07, 2009)
"... Jazz To the People lives up to its promise. Jeff delivers many different styles of jazz to music lovers - be it free jazz, hard bop or avante-garde. There's a little for everyone to love on this CD."

Recommended Music, , Austin Chronicle (Nov 13, 2009)
"...Jazz at St. James ... Javon Jackson... who's played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and recorded for Blue Note.. superb veteran pianist George Cables... Louis Hayes, who hasn't he played with in his 50-year career? The locally busy Jeff Lofton Quartet opens Friday ... "

(video) Austin-Artists.com (Nov 1, 2009)
" ... a phenomenal Austin asset, bringing a wealth of jazz experience and knowledge, along with a swinging horn to this city."

KUT 90.5, Austin Music Minute (06.19.09) " ... Lofton will play today with one of those legendary artists, who first began performing in the 1950’s and still performs today. Jazz and R&B singer Donna Hightower will join the Jeff Lofton Quartet for a Juneteenth African American Tribute show at the Central Market..." -

Michael Barnes, Out and About, Austin American-Statesman/Austin360.com
Jeff Lofton at the Driskill Hotel Bar (5.30.09)
"a phenomenal jazz trumpeter."

Birth of the Cool B scene: Tonight at the Blanton [Art Preview (5.1.09)
"... Austin's own jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton and his quartet will be performing a Miles Davis Tribute set to get everyone in the mood to be cool..."

Austin Chronicle (2.27.09)
" ... you can catch a night of jazz that pays tribute to the recording from which the exhibition takes its name: Miles Davis' landmark 1957 LP, Birth of the Cool. Trumpeter Jeff Lofton, who blows a pretty frosty horn himself, leads the show, which covers Miles' 1950s output in three sets. Sharing the stage with Lofton at the Elephant Room, 315 Congress, will be saxophonist Russell Haight, pianist Rich Harney, bass player Mark Nelms, and drummer Masumi Jones. The show is Saturday, Feb. 28, 9:30pm."

Austin Eavesdropper (2.25.09)
"... this Austin-tony lineup at Antone's, and it looks like a pretty big deal. ... Also, someone who I've been hearing a lot about lately - Jeff Lofton and his jazz trumpet, along with equally astonishing dreadlocks - will be there. The Austin American-Statesman recently compared him to Miles Davis."

"Shana's Song," a Jeff Lofton original, was seleceted for Austin Music Vol. 8, an annual compilation produced by the Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The Jeff Lofton Quartet performed at the CD release party at Antone's on 2/26/09. The CD is available to purchase at AustinTexas.org.

Austin Chronicle (2.20.09 )
Random Play by Austin Powell
"The Blanton Museum of Art opens its new exhibit, "Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at midcentury," on Sunday, celebrating the confluence of innovation that led to West Coast modernism. Miles Davis, Chet Baker, and Dave Brubeck, among others, provide the soundtrack at various listening stations throughout the exhibit, which also features album-cover art from the era. Jeff Lofton helps set the mood with his tribute... at the Elephant Room on Saturday, Feb. 28... "

Dining in Austin (2.18.09)
"... I'm really looking forward to the Birth of the Cool exhibit opening... The (Blanton) museum has worked with all kinds of places around town to celebrate the exhibit - including some really serious jazz music at the Elephant Room. Do yourself a favor and go see Jeff Lofton play his Miles Davis Tribute there on February 28th. I've seen him do his thing on Thursday nights at The Belmont and it has become one of my favorite weekly events."

Austin Texas Daily Photo (2.13.09)
"One of the reasons we love Austin is that you
can find some fabulous music in nice bars with no
cover. The open air Belmont patio was pleasant as
punch last night and the wonderful jazz of the
Jeff Lofton Quartet was wafting out into the street
bringing strollers in as well as people like us who
put the gig on our calendar. I've become a big fan of
Jeff on trumpet but the other musicians I've seen
on his quartet gigs have been fabulous, too, including
drummer Masumi Jones who must be the most
exciting beat keeper I've seen in a long time.
Last night her husband Chris took the bass role."

The Jeff Lofton Quartet with David Webb on piano,
Jeff Lofton on trumpet, Chris Jones on bass, Masumi
Jones on drums. 02.12.09 at The Belmont.

XL MUSIC, Austin American-Statesman (02.12.09)
Songs of the heart: Musicians share the lyrics of love and longing that move them most.
by Michael Corcoran
"Jeff Lofton, blue cool jazz trumpeter and composer: 'My Foolish Heart' by Johnny Hartman, written by Ned Washington and Victor Young. 'Of the many love songs I enjoy listening to and playing, this combination of lyrics and melody creates a mood both nostalgic as well as inspiring. The lyrics tell a story of someone who's not done well with love in the past but is still willing to follow their heart even when their head tells them it may not be logical. Few songs leave you with a feeling of wanting, nostalgia and joy, based on love that's uncertain, but becomes certain all in the course of one melody.'" Click here to read the entire article.

(podcast) AustinJazz.net (02.04.09)
Jeff Lofton interview
"Got a chance to sit down with Jeff and talk some jazz. We discussed his history, the jazz scene here in Austin and his upcoming shows and recent achievements." Click here to listen to the podcast.

(podcast) Song of the Day, Texas Music Matters, KUT 90.5 FM, kut.org, (1.30.09)
"A welcomed Jazz interpretation makes it's way into the Song of the Day annals. Jeff Lofton has been playing the trumpet for over thirty years. A South Carolina native, Lofton now calls Austin home. But his sound is something out of the 1950s and 1960s bebop of Chicago and New York. Lofton dropped by KUT last week before a gig at the Elephant Room and delighted onlookers with a beautiful cover of 'Georgia on My Mind'
Download (free)"Georgia On My Mind" performed live in Studio 1A on Music With Jay Trachtenberg.

January 15, 2009, was
"Jeff Lofton Day" in
Austin, Texas.
Click here to see the mayor's proclamation
and "Shana's Song" with Mark Nelms on bass
and Masumi Jones on drums performing
for Austin City Council.

Click here for the podcast of
Jeff Lofton Quartet live from Studio 1A on
KUT 90.5 on Music with Jay Trachtenberg (1.15.09)
with Alex Coke on sax, Rich Harney on piano,
Pat Harris on bass, and Masumi Jones on drums performing "Georgia," "Pfrancing" and "Shana's Song."

XL ENT, Austin American-Statesman (1.15.09)
In the clubs with Jeff Lofton by Joe Gross
"... jazz to the people and people to the jazz: Jazz musician Jeff Lofton is one of Austin music's recent overnight successes, even though he's been playing the trumpet for more than 30 years. The 42-year-old musician moved here from South Carolina in 2007 and within a year built himself a name in the Austin jazz scene for his lyrical, ebullient playing...." Click here to read the entire interview.

Texas Highways
- The Travel Magazine of Texas,
(11.08) Heavenly Music:The annual Jazz at St. James Festival, November 14 - 16, in Austin, will feature 3 days of excellent live jazz programming, including trumpet player Jeff Lofton (right), legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller with saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman, pianist James Polk, and vocalist Pamela Hart. Sunday jazz masses feature the Leah Zeger Trio, Newman and Fuller, Buscando El Monte, and The Jeff Lofton Quintet. For additional details, check http://jazzatstjames.org (photo by dhillsphotography.com at Central Market)

Austin American-Statesman / Austin360.com Best Bets (09.21.08)
"The Jeff Lofton Quartet provides the soundtrack for your easy Sunday mornings every week."

Austinist Show Preview: Jeff Lofton Quartet Jazz Brunch @ Waterloo Ice House Austinist.com (08.08.2008)
... Lofton's brand of jazz is in the Davis/Gillespie/Coltrane vein, sultry and sensual as a summer afternoon. Since relocating to Austin last year, Lofton's had a good run of it, playing to standing-room only crowds at the Elephant Room, gaining notoriety in the local scene in part for last year's well-received Miles Davis tribute, All Miles 1950's, which he and the Jeff Lofton Quintet brought first to the Victory Grill and then the Elephant room...

The Good Life: A Monthly Journal of Austin Stories (06.2008)
"In Search of Austin Jazz" by Rush Evans
A trumpet playing jazzman is delivering Thelonious Monk’s “In Walked Bud” with melodic moments from “Blue Skies” showing up as jazz variations, as spontaneous as the patches of blue peeking through the clouds on this gloriously grey Sunday afternoon in Central Park. It’s the kind of overcast day made for the subdued musical introspections of Monk and Miles Davis — understated, engaging, challenging yet soothing. But this is not Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Central Park in Austin is the location of the Central Market grocery, on whose patio Jeff Lofton is playing a gig in preparation for an upcoming show at the famed Elephant Room that will celebrate the music of Miles Davis, the man who inspired him to play jazz trumpet in the first place. Click here to read the full story (pdf). Click here to visit The Good Life Web site.

Daily Texan, Austin, Texas (04.28.08)
“Local performer channels Miles Davis” by Jack Frink
"...channels Miles Davis. ...Throughout the night, Lofton replicated Davis' trademark style very well, but still managed to bring his own personality to the music. …an expert example of how jazz music is always reinventing itself." Click here to read the full story.

KUT 90.5 FM, Texas Music Matters’ Austin Music Minute, Austin, Texas (05.30.08)
"If you've not yet been to a performance at The Elephant Room, it is highly advised that you make time to do so. And seeing the Jeff Lofton Quintet would be a great introduction to this revered jazz venue. The Jeff Lofton Quintet (they've performed as a quartet previously) combines a mix of jazz standards and original material written by trumpeter Jeff Lofton into the show." Click here for the complete text.

The Brownsville Herald, Brownsville, Texas (01.03.08)
“Austin trumpeteer makes RGV debut tonight” by Miriam Ramirez
"Critics in Austin give trumpeter Jeff Lofton serious kudos for his blend of the old school and new styles of jazz, comparing him to the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane." Click here for the complete article.

Austin American-Statesman, Austin, Texas (09.23.07)
"Listen up, Miles Davis fans.  ...the virtuoso studied music composition and jazz at the University of South Carolina… with decades of experience under his belt … Lofton recently relocated to Austin where his ... jazz sounds can be heard as he leads the melodic Jeff Lofton Group."

Austin American-Statesman, Best Bets, Austin, Texas (06/24/07)
"...Jeff Lofton offers 'Jazz Therapy'..."

Free Times, Columbia, South Carolina (09/15/05)
"Jazz Therapy draws on the old-school be-bop styles of Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie while also employing some of the adventurous tendencies and structures of John Coltrane."

The State, Columbia, South Carolina (09/01/03)
"Jeff's trumpet flies onto tracks like singing birds into morning sunshine. … One of the best trumpet players in South Carolina."