Arts Alive! podcast: Musician Simon Lasky

Today in the Arts Alive! studio, our guest is jazz pianist Simon Lasky.

A Londoner by birth, Lasky came to the United States in 2018 to study at the University of South Florida. These days, he’s an integral part of the Tampa Bay jazz community, a vast collection of top-drawer talent that can adapt to virtually any situation, any gig, to create something musically extraordinary.

This Sunday afternoon, Lasky will play at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center as one-third of Arenas, Lasky & Nash (the others are vocalist Allison Nash and bassist Alejandro Arenas). They’ll be playing their colorful interpretations of the Burt Bacharach songbook.

We talk about the trio, about Lasky’s approach to composition, performance and teaching, and also about one of his other regular appearances, as the Friday (6-9 p.m.) “guy at the piano” at the Birchwood in downtown St. Pete.

Should you venture by there tonight, request “Piano Man.” And tell Simon that Bill sent you.