Biography

     Anthony Lofton's (Tony's) CD “Sensational” is his solo debut. He is a solid jazz saxophonist/keyboard player whose style falls on the Urban Smooth, R&B-ish, and pop side of jazz. His music style is heavily influenced by musicians such as, Grover Washington Jr., Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Paul Taylor, Kenny G., and Boney James. He is a true entertainer, consistent perfectionist, and can always be relied upon to put on a show that the audience loves.

    When listening to music, Tony always hears the music instead of the words. He wrote his first song at age 15, during his junior year in high school. The song, “Smooth Vacation” was featured at the annual jazz band event, “Jazz After Dark”. To enable the band to play the song, Tony wrote music for each part in the song. It was a huge hit. The band director, Mr. Bill Spainhour, said that students liked the song so much that they made it into their warm up song for jazz band classes. According to Mr. Spainhour, “It seemed to motivate the group to want to perform.” During his senior year in high school, Tony also composed songs and wrote music for the school’s marching band.

     Tony was born at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. His father was in the military, therefore he moved to several places during his younger years. At the age of seven he mastered the piano and keyboard (Fort Sheridan, Illinois). In the third grade (Fort Knox, Kentucky), he played the recorder and in the fourth grade, he joined the school band playing the clarinet. Tony is a very talented musician. He made All State Band (Concert and Jazz) whenever he tried out. His band teacher, Mr. Curt Derden, described him as the “Michael Jordan of music.” He has also been labeled as “one of the most talented music students to come through North Little Rock High School.” During his ninth grade year (North Little Rock, Arkansas), he added the tenor saxophone to his list of instruments. He quickly excelled with this instrument, making All State Jazz band each year. Later he added the soprano saxophone and alto saxophone to his list of instruments. In high school, during a competitive state performance, Tony was named the “High School Jazz Solo Artist of the Year” two consecutive years.

     After graduating from high school in the top 1% of his class of 505 students, Tony continued his love of music by joining the University of Arkansas jazz band, as well as, several other groups: The Daven Rosen Orchestra (jazz band), Starlite 5 (Motown cover band), The Bribe (a rock band), Blu Kay (fusion band), The Oneups (video game band), and was featured with Rainbow Raani for the soundtrack for the movie. The Oneups have released several CDs (The Very Best of Sega Genesis, OneUps Volume I, etc.). Tony has also done numerous solo performances including: Martin Luther King Jr. Day festivities, Engineering department’s teacher appreciation day, Delta Presents, Family reunions, etc. He made his debut playing at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day festivities at Fayetteville, Arkansas. Several groups who attended the festivities asked him to perform at numerous events. He returned to play the following year at the Martin Luther King Jr. street dedication ceremony. Tony is also featured by several artists on their CDs and music (Dale North, DJ Potatoe, and Joshua Morse).

     Tony attended the University of Arkansas on an academic scholarship and band scholarship where he majored in computer engineering (graduated with honors in 2005). He graduated in May 2006 with a master’s degree in computer engineering and plans to continue his education by completing his doctorate’s degree in engineering. Anthony is also currently composing songs for his second solo CD.