Still in his early thirties, young jazz guitar supremo Artie Zaitz has rapidly established himself on the London scene. 

Music has always been in Zaitz’s blood. His parents emigrated from Poland to the UK the year that he was born, and he's gigged prolifically on the London jazz and blues circuit.

In an interview with Jazzwise magazine, Artie said: “My dad had a vast CD collection which included all sorts of Blue Note, Impulse! and Prestige recordings. I became totally enthralled with it all.”

By the age of 11, his musical education was in full flow: he was taking regular piano and guitar lessons, jamming to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, and meticulously transcribing T-Bone Walker and BB King licks.

“All jazz comes from the blues. The best jazz musicians have always had a deep understanding of it. Even Coltrane, when he got pretty far out, could still bring it home with the blues. It’s amazing.”

Three jazz guitarists stand as clear favourites for Zaitz: “Grant Green is, for me, the most bluesy of them all. I really love his horn-like single note approach. Kenny Burrell was an all-rounder who was great at chord melody stuff. And Wes Montgomery’s vibe was just incredible.”

His all-star band on this gig consists of Ruben Fox (tenor saxophone), Ross Stanley (keys) and Mark Taylor (drums)