Chris Luke

Chris Luke has been making music for the last fifteen years. His foray into the commercial industry was performing sax and bass guitar in the hugely popular Return to the Forbidden Planet at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town in 1995 and since then he has become a prominent name in musical theatre circles the country over. Chris Luke is a dynamic and charismatic showman, leaving audiences spellbound and cheering for more, with his unique interpretations of well-known songs in the shows he has played.

Chris Luke has played saxophone, pennywhistle, clarinet, backing keyboards and bass guitar in box office sell-outs: Cape Town’s Forbidden Planet, Solid Gold Juke Box I & II, Annie, Breyten Breytenbach’s Johnny Cockroach, The Ultimate 80’s Show and Etien Van Hierden’s Lied Van Die Boeings.

In Durban he’s received rave reviews in The Elvis Las Vegas Extravaganza, Rouge Pulp and Barnyard productions: Glory Days, Rock Me Amadeus, Yesterday, La Vida, Diamonds & Dust, Hot Chocolate, Mick n’ Tina and Born to Run. In addition, he’s played the saxophone with the Jonny Cooper Big Band, toured and recorded with South Africa’s The Blues Broers, Fusion Outfit Absolute Zero who played at the North Sea Jazz festival, was a member of the South African Police Orchestra for two years, toured and recorded with Jewish Cantor Ezra Altschuler.

He toured a two-man production with Amra-Faye Right (Velma Kelly in South Africa and West End’s Chicago). Luke composed and produced the music for the Vega School of Advertising’s Five year Movie. Luke has also lectured at the University of Cape Town on its jazz-bridging course for two years, co-writing the curriculum.

Chris Luke has a BMus Jazz Studies degree, graduating with the Bell Prize (highest mark throughout all years for practical studies) from UCT.