Tyler Lustek is a jazz pianist, composer, and educator based out of Minneapolis/St. Paul. As a bandleader, Tyler fronts the Tyler Lustek Confluence, which released its poetry-centric debut album Shmehara: Live at Jazz Central Studios in August 2025. Tyler teaches jazz & contemporary piano at the MacPhail Center for Music, serves on the jazz faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, teaches summer jazz programs at the Shell Lake Arts Center, and hosts a competitive lessons studio in Eau Claire. 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. “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