John C. O'Leary III

La Lucha: Everybody Wants To Rule The World

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 ...