Photo courtesy of La Lucha
La Lucha is a band, a family and a way of life. Pianist John C. O’Leary III, bassist Alejandro Arenas, and drummer Mark Feinman quickly became friends after they first met at the University of South Florida in 2006 when they played in the same jazz combo.
Although Feinman is a musical composer, sound engineer, booking agent, and musician, he is also a husband. Feinman is married to Gloria Muñoz, St. Pete’s poet laureate. Feinman and Muñoz collaborate on songwriting, HUSH (a music/poetry project to help babies fall asleep) and more. All of the families are close, mixing merriment with music.
La Lucha in Tampa Bay
The trio hail from three different countries: Colombia (Arenas), Mexico (O’Leary), and the United States (Feinman). According to their website, they consider that “their music ventures boldly into a wide variety of musical styles, offering an appealing, and fun mix of genres under the jazz umbrella.”
They were named Creative Loafing’s “Best of the Bay Jazz Ensemble” in 2013, 2014, and 2015. They received Creative Pinellas’ Think Small to Think Big Grant and presented at several TEDx events.
La Lucha performs in Tampa Bay, around the state, and the region. They toured in Italy and France. The trio is a staple at Eddie V’s lounge in Tampa on Mondays and Tuesdays.
La Lucha works with the St. Petersburg Jazz Festival, Clearwater Jazz Holiday, and Suncoast Jazz Festival. They also work with the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association (ADTBJA), where Feinman was a past President, scholarship awardee, volunteer, education chair, grant writer, and still a volunteer.
Arts All Around!
The Gabber Newspaper covers live theater and art across South Pinellas and, when we find something worth the drive, in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas.
Photo courtesy of La Lucha
Albums from La Lucha
They released their first album A Cup of Fuzzy Water in 2009. In June 2012, La Lucha released a self-titled album. Later, they released Standards, Not-Standards in 2015 (Blue Line Music) and Pa’ Lante all-original music (Fuzzy Water Music) in 2018. In spring 2020, La Lucha released the critically-acclaimed album Everybody Wants To Rule The World on Arbors Records.
“The three musicians draw on very different backgrounds and myriad sources when performing together as La Lucha,” a 2020 review in All About Jazz said about the band. “Whether digging into the Great American Songbook, exploring material from pop and classic rock radio, tapping into the Latin-jazz lexicon, or alluding to classical refinement, they manage to operate with a collective openness that’s rare.”
La Lucha picked up the pace despite the pandemic. They released New Holiday Classics in 2020 with Adrian Cunningham featuring original songs written by Feinman and Muñoz.
While having fun on YouTube as fanboys dressing in the style of their favorite ‘80s stars such as Prince and Madonna, they released La Lucha Plays The ‘80s. This album is an audio-visual collection featuring many of their Tampa Bay musician pals.
What’s Next?
Recently, Feinman wrapped a CJH Summer Jazz Jam at FloridaRAMA in August and was musical director of ADTBJA’s September Palladium concert.
“Please come out and support musicians. If you can’t make it to our show, make it to somebody else’s show,” said Feinman. “And if you can’t make it to a show, buy an album. And remember that the season of change we’re all changing. So, let’s be good to each other. Let’s be nice and help and lift each other up.”
Catch them live Nov. 10 at the Clearwater Peace Memorial Concert Series and Nov. 22 at the Suncoast Jazz Festival.
We’re the calm during the storm. No hype, only help!
Bookmark The Gabber Newspaper’s storm coverage page for quick access to relevant tropical storm updates. No hype, no guessing, just updates on shelters, sandbags, and closures. And sign up for text alerts to get real-time guidance and prep advice when there’s a named storm heading our way. Also, check out our downtown Gulfport, marina, and beach web cams.
