"Ranging from ambitious original compositions to improvisational jams, Tyler Lustek brings with him a unique experience on the piano. Combining old classics from Herbie Hancock to modern retellings of Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire, Lustek celebrates music authentic to himself."  -Kelly Carlson, VolumeOne Magazine

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Tyler Lustek is a pianist, composer, arranger and educator from Eau Claire, WI. Tyler is involved with a variety of musical projects around the Chippewa Valley and the Twin Cities including his own quintet the Tyler Lustek Confluence, avant-garde jazz duet Lustek / Granros, the Blue Ox Trio, piano/cello duet Duo Vivace, the Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra, and Eau Claire Funk Machine. Tyler is also co-director of the jazz combo program at UW-Eau Claire, and teaches weekly improvisation workshops at Chippewa Falls High School.

As a student in the long-established jazz bands at Eau Claire Memorial High School, Tyler was deeply involved in all aspects of the school’s music programs. At the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Tyler majored in music education (B.M., 2020) and studied jazz piano with prolific jazz pianist Dr. Johannes Wallmann. After completing his undergraduate studies, Tyler earned his graduate degree in jazz studies at Northern Illinois University (M.M., 2022) where he studied piano under esteemed jazz pianists and educators Prof. Reggie Thomas & Richard D. Johnson, and composition with Brian Penkrot & David Maki. Tyler also held the jazz piano graduate assistantship at NIU, through which he received a full-ride scholarship and taught group piano classes, jazz ensembles, and private piano lessons.

While at NIU, Tyler performed and recorded with the nationally-acclaimed NIU Jazztet graduate ensemble. He also played piano for the jazz septet The Noah Brooks Coalition, which released its debut album, In the Night, on all streaming services in September 2021. In his final semester at NIU, Tyler received the Runner-Up Award for the 2022 Jan Bach Prize in Music Composition for his piece "The Other Side.”

Since completing his graduate degree, Tyler has moved back to Eau Claire to perform, teach, and compose. Recently, Tyler was voted #3 Best New Band / Artist in Volume One Magazine’s 2023 Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll. Tyler has had the honor to share the stage with notable musicians including Marquis Hill, Stafford James, Sue Orfield, Dean Granros, Kenni Holmen, Wayne Bergeron, Sean Carey, Tanya Darby, Natalie Cressman, Sherrie Maricle, and Anat Cohen.