Dick Hyman and La Lucha join forces this Saturday; we’ve got a story and pictures from their rehearsal

Our little theater has seen plenty of remarkable jazz shows over the years. This weekend’s concert featuring the legendary Dick Hyman and the great young jazz band, La Lucha, promises to be another one of the great ones.

 

You can get tickets for Generations of Jazz – Saturday, 11/15 at 8 p.m. – by visiting our website or calling the Palladium box office at 727 822-3590.

 

Dick Hyman is hands down the best classic jazz pianist on the planet. His musical interest range from Fats Waller to Teddy Wilson and beyond. He was musical director for several of Woody Allen’s films and is a regular guest on the NPR music program – Live From The Landing. In his 80s, he keeps a busy concert schedule around the country. Home is mostly Venice, Florida.

 

I visited him there a few years ago for a freelance story I was doing on him. Last weekend, the members of La Lucha got together in his music room to plan their show and listen to music. This young band, based in St. Petersburg, is pushing the jazz tradition into the 21st Century. They move easily from standards, to Latin, to pop hits rethought for trio and vocals. The lead singer, Jun Bustamante, is a rising star in her own right.

 

We’re producing this show in partnership with our friends at the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association. WUSF DJ Bob Seymour will be introducing the show.

 

I asked Mark Feinman, the drummer of La Lucha to write about their visit with Dick for this blog. His thoughts and some photos are included below:

 

 

The culture of jazz is highly social, and one artist that embodies this tradition is Dick Hyman. It so happens that through mutual acquaintances we were introduced to Dick about five years ago. And when an opportunity arose to play a concert in St. Petersburg, he invited us to play with him!

 

Dick is such a humble and modest person, he invited us over to his house to rehearse, and listen to music.  He had sandwiches, coffee, and cookies for us to eat afterwards. We listened to Keith Jarrett play Shostakovitch, and a Saint-Saëns piano concerto that was fabulously recorded.

 

Despite his tremendous pedigree, having been a student of Teddy Wilson, playing with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and Benny Goodman, among a long list of illustrious performers, he treated us as equals.

 

While outlining the concert, Dick made it a point to feature us with him, rather than simply being an opening band. As a result, there will be some exciting duets, trios, quartets, and even quintets!

 

There’s an indescribable feeling of being in the same room with one of your jazz heroes; that’s why live performances can be so powerful. That’s the feeling we get being next to Dick Hyman. This inspiration is why we play music.

 

We are so excited to present to you Generations of Jazz: Dick Hyman and La Lucha with Jun Bustamante.  This is a rare opportunity, not just for La Lucha and Jun, but for the audience as well, to share that feeling together, to rave over Dick’s delectable playing, and to experience the amalgamation of two distinct generations of jazz.

 

We hope to see you there!

 

P.S. Dick and John will play a piece with four hands on the piano, and it’s going to be a lot of fun!