La Lucha Releases Debut Recording: Everybody Wants To Rule The World

The trio’s music ventures boldly into a wide variety of musical styles, offering an appealing and fun mix of genres under the jazz umbrella. The combination of their musical versatility and varied musical influences makes for compelling virtuosic performances. Through an engaging stage presence and high level of interaction, La Lucha brings the audience into their world.

La Lucha has built an impressive resume performing with jazz legends including Randy Brecker, Dick Hyman, Charles McPherson, Wycliffe Gordon, Marty Morell; as well as, the renowned guests that appear on this album: Melissa Aldana, Ken Peplowski, Chuck Redd, Diego Figueiredo, and Houston Person.

La Lucha is a Tampa Bay based trio that consists of three best friends from three different parts of the world: Colombia (Alejandro Arenas), Mexico (John O’Leary), & United States (Mark Feinman). Their music ventures boldly into a wide variety of musical styles, offering an appealing and fun mix of genres under the jazz umbrella. The combination of their musical versatility and varied musical influences makes for compelling virtuosic performances. Through an engaging stage presence and high level of interaction, La Lucha brings the audience into their world.

Beautifully produced by clarinetist Ken Peplowski, Everybody Wants To Rule The World features a diverse and creative group of musicians with widely eclectic interests. From punk to heavy metal, salsa, jazz, world music, and even classical tuba, La Lucha melds their energies and unique musical and cultural backgrounds to create their sound. Having grown up in very different parts of the world with varied musical influences permeates throughout the music. “We find that jazz is the perfect vehicle for those differences to meld together, due to the freedom that exists within it. There is also a wonderful human and musical coexistence within La Lucha and that gives us a joy that sets the tone of what we do.” There's so much compositional strength in this trio.

With a name meaning ‘the fight or struggle,’ La Lucha positively reminds the audience to overcome whatever one needs, including the obstacles found in living with a commitment to an artistic life. “Trust is at the core of what we do. Each member of the group is an essential part of the La Lucha sound and brings something unique to the table. The sound we have is impossible to achieve without this particular combination of individuals, and that sound is the essence of our music.”