Luca Sestak was born on the 10th of January, 1995 in Celee, Lower Saxony, Germany. He began playing the piano at eight years old when his father began to teach him, but he has said that he hated it. At the age of nine, he was sent to a classical music teacher, but he really didn’t like classical music and so still hated it, at least initially, after over two years of lessons he was beginning to enjoy the piano somewhat. It was at this point that he discovered jazz and blues music and in particular boogie-woogie piano.
Unlike earlier pianists, Luca grew up in the age of the internet, with sites like ‘You Tube’ making such music so much more accessible, I see the internet as a good and a bad thing, but for the discovery of music and for its study, it is definitely a good thing. For music sales income for artists… well that is a totally different matter that I won’t go into.
Luca began to teach himself blues and boogie-woogie piano and eventually shared his playing on ‘You Tube’ in 2006, which is responsible for the start of his career (where the internet is a good thing, discoverability). Some of his ‘You Tube’ videos have received several million views and as he’s grown older he has to performed in concerts and festivals in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France Sweden to name but a few, and has played alongside the likes of Vince Weber (an influence on him) and Silvan Zingg.
To date, Luca has released two albums, both I’d recommend, but also check him out on ‘You Tube’. Here you can see him progress from when he was a talented teenager to the very accomplished player he has become. Luca doesn’t always play strict boogie-woogie, but even some of the songs that aren’t, are influence by it, and the blues contain its essence, or are a combination of styles. I hope to see more releases in the future, even if he has moved on from boogie-woogie itself.
Of interest to the pianists out there, if you like Lucas music, he released a couple of books with some songs from his albums transcribed note for note. It should be available from his website and worth checking out if you fancy having a go at some of his material.
| Luca Sestak – Lost In Boogie | 2010 |
| E-Flat Flyer My Rock ‘n Boogie Quiet Blues The Fives Boogie 99 Go Str8 4 It Boogie Woogie Stomp Sunny Sunday | Stressed Student’s Stride Tribute to Jay Mcshann Roberta (How Do You Feel) Daydream (What a Day for a Daydream) Swanee river boogie How Long Blues Silent Night Blues (Silent Night, Holy Night Blues) |
| Luca Sestak – New Way | 2014 |
| James Weber’s Breakdown Walk with the Devil Laci’s Boogie For Her Blame Game 47’s Theme Frederic’s Dream (Frederic’s Dream of Blues) | Joogie Wazz DR. James Maymories Put out the Light Key Engine O Holy Night (Cantique de Noël) |