Rod Piazza

Originating from California, blues bandleader, harmonica virtuoso, and vocalist Rod Piazza channels soaring harmonica lines deeply shaped by Little Walter alongside George "Harmonica" Smith. He launched his professional path in the mid-'60s as a member of the Dirty Blues Band, developing a personal approach that fully emerged on his initial solo outing, the 1973 release Bluesman. Beginning in 1980 he joined forces with the Mighty Flyers, the ensemble he created together with his keyboardist spouse Honey Alexander; their energetic blend fuses jump blues, West Coast blues, and Chicago blues. The group has circled the world repeatedly and issued over a dozen albums, among them the widely praised, award-winning Emergency Situation from 2014.

Raised in Southern California, Piazza immersed himself in blues recordings while refining his harmonica technique. He first picked up guitar at age seven. During the mid-'60s he started the House of DBS, later renamed the Dirty Blues Band; the outfit secured a deal with ABC-BluesWay and delivered two albums in 1967 and 1968. After the group disbanded in 1968, Piazza formed Bacon Fat alongside his idol and mentor George "Harmonica" Smith, producing a dual-harp texture. Across the following decade and a half, Piazza and Smith appeared together often and cut occasional recordings. Bacon Fat issued its self-titled debut on Blue Horizon in 1969. While still working with Smith, Piazza put out his own solo projects, beginning with Bluesman on LMI in 1973; the follow-up, Chicago Flying Saucer Band, arrived on Gangster Records in 1979.

With Smith's health fading in the early '80s, Piazza assembled the Mighty Flyers featuring his wife Honey Alexander on keyboards, and the band started performing in clubs in 1980. From 1981 to 1985 the Mighty Flyers released three albums: Radioactive Material in 1981, File Under Rock in 1984, and From the Start to the Finish in 1985. Throughout the early '80s Piazza also worked as a session player with artists ranging from Pee Wee Crayton to Michelle Shocked. In the mid-'80s he pursued a complete solo career, issuing Harpburn on Murray Brothers in 1986 and So Glad to Have the Blues in 1988. Piazza & the Mighty Flyers signed with Black Top Records in 1991, prompting the label to reissue the band's earlier material on CD. Through the '90s he kept recording and touring with the Mighty Flyers while occasionally releasing solo sets such as the 1999 album Here and Now. Beyond the Source followed in 2001. Three years later the Mighty Flyers resurfaced with Keepin' It Real on Blind Pig, introducing drummer Paul Fasulo and guitarist Henry Carvajal. The subsequent four albums appeared on Delta Groove Records: For the Chosen Who in 2005, Thrillville in 2007, Soul Monster in 2009, and Almighty Dollar in 2011. In 2014 Piazza & the Mighty Flyers returned to Blind Pig for Emergency Situation. During fall 2018 he independently released the career-spanning collection of originals titled Rod Piazza: His Instrumentals, which drew on multiple past lineups of the Mighty Flyers and added two previously unheard tracks from the Live at B.B. King's Blues Club sessions.