Cara Luft | |
|---|---|
 Cara Luft in Calgary (2007) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, rock, Americana |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, banjo |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Formerly of | The Wailin' Jennys |
| Website | caraluft |
Cara Luft is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and clawhammer banjo player, and founding member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. She returned to her solo career in 2005.
Luft was born 27 May 1974 and raised in Calgary, Alberta to folk-singing parents. She was brought up in the city's vibrant folk music community. She began playing dulcimer and autoharp at the age of four, and started singing with the family band. Her guitar self-studies began at age 11.
After spending four years living in British Columbia, she moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in the fall of 1999 to further pursue her music career. She developed an understanding of alternate tunings and both finger and flat-picking techniques, becoming an accomplished acoustic guitar player.[ citation needed ] She performs as a claw hammer banjo player, and sings with an alto voice. Her writing and playing styles are influenced by rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, as well as both modern and traditional folk music (British, Canadian and American styles). She has worked as a workshop leader and instructor at international music camps, including the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Foothills Acoustic Music Institute, Colorado Roots Music Camp, and Goderich Celtic College.
In 2000 Luft released her debut album, Tempting the Storm. [1]
Luft co-founded and performed with the Wailin' Jennys in the early 2000s, which released a self-titled EP and an album, 40 Days, in 2004. [2] Luft left the band soon after and set out once more on a solo career. [3] She released the album The Light Fantastic in 2007, [1] which was produced by Neil Osborne of the Canadian rock band 54-40, and mixed by Warne Livesey. [4]
Luft toured Europe with Liverpool-based side musician Scott Poley, a music producer who plays guitar, pedal and lap steel. In Canada she toured with bass player Gilles Fournier, sometimes with guest musicians Donovan Giesbrecht and Chris Neufeld of The Other Brothers. Her co-writing partner for the album Darlingford was Lewis Melville, of Guleph, Ontario.
Luft performed in Scotland in 2008 with Hugh MacMillan, [5] and returned to tour with him again in 2009. [3] In 2012 she released another album, Darlingford on the Blue Case label. [6]
In 2016, Luft joined with JD Edwards to form the duo The Small Glories. They released their debut album Wonderous Traveller in February 2016. [7] [8]
Amy Millan is a Canadian indie rock singer and guitarist. She records and performs with the bands Stars and Broken Social Scene as well as having a successful solo career. Her second solo album, Masters of the Burial, was released by Arts & Crafts Productions in September 2009.
Alison Brown is an American banjo player, guitarist, composer, and producer. She has won and has been nominated for several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck, for her unique style of playing. In her music, she blends bluegrass, jazz, Latin and Celtic influences.
Suzanne Elizabeth Ungerleider, who formerly wrote and performed under the name Oh Susanna, is an American-Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are a musical duo who perform folk, bluegrass and children’s music. They have performed with Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, Tom Paxton, Patsy Montana, Riders in the Sky and others. The Washington Area Music Association has recognized the duo with over 60 Wammie Awards for folk, bluegrass, and children’s music.
The Wailin' Jennys are a Canadian music group. A 2011 review says they "sing like siblings and play like seasoned veterans". They have released several albums and received two Juno Awards. The group has been featured several times on the American Public Media program A Prairie Home Companion.
40 Days is the debut full-length album from Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. The lineup of the group at the time was Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta, and Cara Luft. This was the last recording to feature Luft, who left the group the following year.
Firecracker is the second album by The Wailin' Jennys.
Annabelle Chvostek is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario.
The Wailin' Jennys EP was the debut release from the eponymous Canadian folk trio. The lineup of the group at the time was Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta, and Cara Luft; Luft has since left the group, being replaced first by Annabelle Chvostek and later by Heather Masse.
Ruth Moody is an Australian-born soprano singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys.
Nicky Mehta is a mezzo singer-songwriter, and member of Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys.
Jenny Whiteley is a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. She was a member of the band Heartbreak Hill, and released several solo albums of folk music. She has won two Juno Awards for her music.
The Poozies are a British all-female traditional folk band formed in 1990. They were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scottish and Gaelic music in the 1990s. Throughout the years they have toured worldwide, attracting recognition and appreciation for their eclectic choice of material, unusual and exciting arrangements, and notable vocal harmonies.
Jenn Grant is a Canadian folk pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Scruj MacDuhk was a Juno-nominated Canadian folk music group based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The band included singer-songwriter Ruth Moody, current member of the Wailin' Jennys, and also Clawhammer banjo player/vocalist Leonard Podolak, who went on to form The Duhks.
Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House is the third album by the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys.
Heather Masse is an American alto singer and member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. She was born and grew up in Maine, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music as a jazz singer. She is currently based in Taos, New Mexico.
Hatful of Rain, an acoustic music group from Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England, perform original material that combines English folk sounds with harmony singing and American bluegrass music. Critically acclaimed, the band came to the attention of broadcaster Mike Harding, who played their music on his BBC Radio 2 show. The band also performed live on BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris Sunday programme on 24 March 2013.
The Small Glories is a Canadian folk duo from Winnipeg composed of Cara Luft and J.D. Edwards, both of whom perform on guitar and vocals.
Fifteen is the fifth full-length album from Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. The nine-song album of covers commemorates the trio's fifteen years as a recording entity. The songs are a combination of ones played during their concerts and those decided during the five–day recording session.
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