Omar (L) and Rachel Hakim, who play Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida on Jan. 31, 2025. Credit: Photo via mypalladium.org

Jazz keyboardist Rachel Hakim and her husband Omar are loaded with music industry stories that go back to the Reagan years.

Before becoming a jazz professor at a number of music colleges, Rachel spent time touring with Peter Gabriel and even had a hand in co-writing a handful of Grammy Award-winning pieces with saxophonist Najee and the late Wayne Shorter, respectively. As for her husband, Omar banged the cans on two David Bowie albums, as well as every drum part on Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms, excluding the iconic intro to “Money For Nothing.”

Rounding out this trio is new kid Jonathan Toscano, a dynamic, up-and-coming New York-bred bassist who has collaborated with more contemporary musicians.

Tickets to see Rachel Z Trio play Side Door Cabaret at Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg on Friday, Jan. 31 are still available and start at $35.