Rod Piazza - For The Chosen Who (2005)

Rod Piazza, considered one of the preeminent harmonica players around, has become a commanding presence at the forefront of today's blues scene. Billboard has also called him "a star contemporary blues songwriter, as well as the star musician verging on a broader breakthrough." Though he isn't quite comfortable with the term "virtuoso," his skills certainly merit placing him in that company. Piazza's harmonica technique borders on astonishing - a delicate combination of power and grace that maintains the fattest of tones while alternately evoking classic Chicago styles, interpreting R&B horn lines, or playing his own signature licks.
Although it's true that, as the New York Times said, "Rod Piazza has perfected the rough drive and edgy tone that characterized the classic Chicago blues sound of Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and others in the 50's," he's also a master of West Coast jump blues, incorporating elements of Los Angeles' postwar jazz, swing, and R&B combos.
His band for the last quarter century, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, has won the prestigious "Blues Band Of The Year" W.C. Handy Award three times, regarded as the equivalent of the Grammy in the blues field. Piazza has also won the Handy Award for "Blues Instrumentalist-Harmonica," and the band's ability to keep the blues vibrant, fresh and alive has led to countless accolades, awards and nominations over the years.
California native Piazza began his musical career in Los Angeles in 1965, when he formed the Dirty Blues Band at the age of 18. They released their first record in 1967, which was quickly followed up by a second album in 1968 on ABC/Bluesway Records. At the same time, he was cutting his musical teeth on local club dates with blues pioneers such as Big Mama Thorton, Big Joe Turner, and T-Bone Walker.