Everybody Wants To Rule The World

by La Lucha

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Delivers to your home in an eco friendly case. Includes 6 page booklet with liner notes written by Ken Peplowski & Bob Seymour.

Includes unlimited streaming of Everybody Wants To Rule The World via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Por La Tarde (ft. Ken Peplowski & Diego Figueiredo) 04:53	info	buy track
2.	Space Oddity 07:05	info	buy track
3.	Lullaby of The Leaves/Lullaby of Birdland (ft. Chuck Redd) 05:03	info	buy track
4.	Blues For Houston Person (ft. Houston Person & Chuck Redd) 06:50	info	buy track
5.	1+2 (ft. Melissa Aldana) 08:01	info	buy track
6.	The Sundering 04:58	info	buy track
7.	Otra Vez (ft. Melissa Aldana & Ken Peplowski) 05:04	info	buy track
8.	Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) (ft. Ken Peplowski) 04:16	info	buy track
9.	Everybody Wants To Rule The World (ft. Melissa Aldana) 06:46	info	buy track
10.	Lilis 05:40	info	buy track
11.	Dance Dance Dance 03:45	info	buy track
12.	She's Like The Wind 05:17	info	buy track
13.	Samba Pra Diego (ft. Ken Peplowski, Chuck Redd, & Diego Figueiredo) 05:06	info	buy track

about

Liner Notes by Bob Seymour

Followers of La Lucha have known for a long time that this is a ‘trio with a difference.’ The first-call rhythm section in the Tampa Bay scene is at home in any jazz context, with the telepathic interplay you expect from a band together for years. But the places they reach for inspiration, the intriguing choices in finding and writing material, and the combination of these three spirited personalities have endeared La Lucha to listeners and to an ever-widening circle of collaborators. And they just keep getting better.

John, Alejandro, and Mark – raised in Mexico, Colombia, and Florida, respectively – met up in a practice room at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, in 2006. The three were soon best friends, and the musical experiences from their younger years, collectively from punk to heavy metal, salsa to classical, were all grist for the mill as they delved into learning and creating jazz. Their energies and cultural backgrounds melded, and La Lucha became known for a sound with lots of Latin rhythms, combining jazz and American Songbook standards with their self-described ‘twisted arrangements’ of 80s and 90s pop tunes, and originals by each of the guys.

In performance, they display a knack for turning on a dime, any given set ranging from a standard trio format to plugging in and heading for the funky or spacey side of things. A La Lucha show reminds us why the verb we choose for music-making is ‘to play.’

Along with their busy performance schedule, La Lucha is all about reaching out, and sharing their message in creative ways. They teach and mentor young musicians, have done TEDx Talks about their artistic approach, and shared the stage with dancers, photographers, and poets. There have been four cd’s since their 2009 debut, each a distinctive statement of their sound at the time. And for 2020…well, this is a whole new level.

You can tell a lot about a band by the company they keep. Recently, La Lucha has been ‘house trio’ at the Sarasota Jazz Festival, where Ken Peplowski is Music Director, as well as a focal point at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday and Suncoast Jazz Festival. (For that matter, Arbors pianist and Sarasota Festival mainstay, the legendary Dick Hyman was an early supporter of the group’s creative spirit, sharing both the bandstand and the music room in his home.)

Ken’s incisive notes give us an inside look into the scene when an amazing cast of old and new friends gathered for a few December days in New York, a time the band recalls as filled with camaraderie and celebration. As an early adopter of La Lucha, I’m so happy that Ken chose some of their ‘core’ material to be included – the ‘Lullaby Medley’ and ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World,’ for example, are old favorites that sound great with a few new twists in the treatment, and of course with the world-class guest artists Ken brought to the project.

The band’s name means ‘the fight, or struggle.’ They view it as a positive reminder to overcome whatever one needs to, including the obstacles found in living with a commitment to an artistic life. This is a great moment for the trio that has shared that commitment for years, and if this is your introduction to La Lucha, you have a lot of great listening in store!

credits

released June 12, 2020

La Lucha is:
JOHN C. O’LEARY III piano, fender rhodes, talkbox, moog sub-phatty, voice
ALEJANDRO ARENAS upright & electric bass, voice
MARK FEINMAN | drums, percussion, voice

featuring

MELISSA ALDANA tenor saxophone
DIEGO FIGUEIREDO acoustic guitar
KEN PEPLOWSKI clarinet, fender rhodes, moog synth, voice
HOUSTON PERSON tenor saxophone
CHUCK REDD vibraphone
Producer KEN PEPLOWSKI
Executive Producer RACHEL DOMBER

Engineer BILL MOSS
Assistant Engineer THOM BEEMER
Mixing BILL MOSS
Mastering DAVE GREENBERG at SONOPOD MASTERING
Recording at Reservoir Studios in New York City, New York | December 18-20th, 2019

KELLEY JACKSON at LUNA PEARL PHOTOGRAPHY Cover Photo
STEPHEN ZANE Additional Photography
BOB SEYMOUR & KEN PEPLOWSKI Liner notes
JAMES SILVERA at HD INTERACTIVE | Album Artwork & Design

Houston Person courtesy of High Note Records
Melissa Aldana plays a Marantz Slant Legacy hard rubber custom mouthpiece, made by Matt Marantz. Reeds: D'Addario
Ken Peplowski is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist

ARCD 19473
Produced by ARBORS RECORDS, Inc.
arborsrecords.com

Tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13 ©🅟2020 Fuzzy Water Music (ASCAP)

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about

La Lucha St Petersburg, Florida

La Lucha is a Tampa Bay based trio that consists of three friends from three different parts of the world; Colombia, Mexico & United States.

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. ... more