Chris Luther Biography

Chris Luther has been performing and writing music for over 20 years. Originally from Long Island, NY and raised in Greensboro NC Chris studied guitar from age 13 with Country guitarist/vocalist Richard Knight, and later with Jazz Guitarist Greg Hyslop. Chris was a member of the Grimsley High School Jazz Band, under the direction of Forrest Munden. He performed in the musical “Grease”, and studied at the Greensboro Music Academy. In 1997 he recorded his first rock album with The Bandits. During High School Chris studied many types of music including Country, Rock, Jazz, Punk, Ska and film music.

After High School Chris’s experiences led him to Wilmington where he attended Cape Fear Community College. Chris tied into the jazz community quickly and became a regular performer and contributor to the Rusty Nail jazz jam. Chris graduated from Cape Fear with a Bachelors of Arts and moved to study Jazz Guitar at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Chris studied composition, jazz combo, arranging and jazz guitar further under Bob Russell.

After graduation from UNCW in 2007 Chris continued to perform with many groups in various restaurants throughout the city. Chris was the house guitar player in Benny Hills Jazz jam from 2007 until 2021 and networked with musicians from all over the Southeastern part of North Carolina. In 2007 Chris was approached by a staff writer from Paramount Pictures and was encouraged to write record and release music again.

In 2011 Chris created his publishing company and started to focus once again on composition and songwriting. From 2013-2016 Chris traveled to Turkey, France where he played around the local wine shops, jazz jams and on the Promenade des Anglais. His travels inspired a new direction for him to become a traveling composer and songwriter. After his trip to France Chris attended a gypsy jazz guitar seminar at Smith College.

Chris studied gypsy style guitar with musicians and teachers from all over the world. The experience had a profound influence on his music and he began to study players like Django Reinhardt, and Stochelo Rosenberg. After Smith College Chris organized a new trio that performed regularly at the Platypus and Gnome and other restaurants around Wilmington. In 2017 Chris performed for WHQR’s Soup to Nuts Live show with the gypsy jazz trio Cafe Nouveaue. It was around this time that Chris also started taking recording and production classes with Jamie Hoover in Southport. The classes helped him develop his music even further and make it more available for the general public. The popularity of the group and the combination of new music and recording knowledge led Chris to release a collection of compositions. On March 6 of 2020 Chris released “Songs of the Night Rose”, a collection of music including various waltzes, a bolero, a Turkish Reggae song and some up beat swing tunes. A month later Chris performed a live version of the music  for the Wilson Center Ghost Light series.

During the Pandemic Chris wrote and studied popular songs and compositions while continuing to perfect his recording and mixing skills.  By the end of 2021 Chris’s writing had led him to a week long songwriters retreat in Nashville, Tennessee. Chris had been studying songwriting his whole life and was fortunate to be able to finally meet and study under Andrea Stolpe. The retreat helped him connect with other songwriters, learn the skills of songwriting,  and gain more knowledge of the business. Chris released his first single “Stella”in 2022 and has been releasing music ever since.

Chris continues to study, write, record and perform his music wherever he can. He also teaches guitar lessons and songwriting in Wilmington and Southport N.C. A new chapter will unfold soon as Chris’s love for playing guitar and writing music has set him on a journey that has swept him off his feet.

Short Bio

Chris has been a performer for audiences nearly all his life. His experiences include music in; Country, Rock, Punk Rock, Jazz and Gypsy Jazz. Chris became a recording artist at an early age and this passion led him to university. Chris writes music based on his travels.