La Lucha

La Lucha is a Tampa Bay based trio that consists of three best friends from three different parts of the world; Colombia, Mexico & United States. Its members are Alejandro Arenas, bass; Mark Feinman, drums; and John O’Leary, piano. Their repertoire is a diverse mixture of Latin inspired rhythms with Jazz standards, twisted arrangements of pop songs and original compositions. Each member of the trio has extensive national and international performance experience, including a tour of Italy and France with performances at the “Umbria Jazz Festival” and “Jazz a Juan” in Juan Les Pins.

La Lucha aims to create music that transcends genres and classifications. They consider music to be live art, which will continue to breathe, grow and evolve with their commitment to it.

La Lucha was awarded Creative Loafing’s “Best of the Bay Jazz Ensemble” in 2013 & 2014, the “Think Small to Think Big Grant,” by Creative Pinellas, featured presenters at TEDxTampa Bay (2014) and were recently honored by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, to present a multi- media project raising awareness for Alzheimer’s disease.

Their debut album, “A Cup of Fuzzy Water” was released in 2009 and their second self-titled album was released in June 2012. Their third album, “Standards, Not-Standards,” featuring Jun on vocals is scheduled for release in January 2015 on Blue Line Music.

Awards

-Doris Duke Charitable Foundation -TEDxTampa Bay (2014) | Featured Presenters & Performers -Creative Loafing’s “Best of the Bay Jazz Ensemble” (2013 & 2014) -"Think Small to Think Big Grant" | Creative Pinellas -Artist of the Day | Tampa Bay Times

La Lucha: Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Read "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 5, 2020

Pianist John C. O'Leary III, bassist Alejandro Arenas and drummer Mark Feinman, fast friends since they first met at the University of South Florida in 2006, draw on very different backgrounds and myriad sources when performing together as La Lucha. 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. The piano trio tradition tends ...

Performance / Tour

La Lucha and friends shine in CCJS debut

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
October 13, 2021

Nineteen months after the pandemic brought the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s 2018-19 concert season to an abrupt and premature end, the nonprofit’s evening concerts resumed on Monday, October 11 with a musical treat from La Lucha. The Tampa Bay-area trio, consisting of pianist John O’Leary, bassist Alejandro Arenas and drummer Mark Feinman, brought along two guests: the Barcelona-born singer Ona Kirei and tenor saxophonist Trace Zacur. The latter was a last-minute sub for trumpeter James Suggs who was unable to ...
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“On ‘Standards, Not-Standards’, La Lucha offers genuinely fresh takes on jazz standards and pop favorites, bolstered by high-caliber musicianship. These gifted young players, and singer Jun Bustamante, invest these reimagined classics with true inventiveness, solid groove making, tight ensemble work, and impressive soloing. Highly recommended.” – Philip Booth, contributor to JazzTimes, Jazziz, DownBeat, and Relix.

"If you're looking for jazz that's essential; both stimulating and easy on the ears; an album that will satisfy nearly every age group - this might be the best album in decades." - PC Jazz