ROD PIAZZA & THE MIGHTY FLYERS BLUES QUARTET
"SOUL MONSTER"

# OF TRACKS: 13 / RELEASE DATE: 06/16/09 / CATALOG #: DGPCD134

MUSICIANS:
Rod Piazza: Harp and Vocals
Miss Honey: Piano and Bass
Henry Carvajal: Guitar and Vocals
Dave Kida: Drums and Percussion
Jonny Viau: Tenor Sax
Allen Ortiz: Tenor Sax in Spirit

Produced by: Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers
Executive Producer: Randy Chortkoff

“Piazza is a superior diatonic and chromatic harmonica player with style - the elusive quality that combines confidence, presence, control, risk-taking and instinct.” – Down Beat Magazine

“Piazza adds West coast swing and sophistication to traditional Chicago electric roots and the results are right up there with the best of Paul Butterfield or Kim Wilson.” – Blues Matters

“Rod Piazza lights up a blue note 40 years in the making each time he draws and blows through the reeds. Some are sweet, others wail like a train a-comin’. And when he sings, Piazza’s full of tuneful authority.” – Blues Revue

DESCRIPTION
Over the last 44 years of playing music Rod Piazza's virtuosity on the harmonica and respect for tradition has been celebrated by fans and critics alike. The Mighty Flyers have taken home the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band of the Year no less than four times, Rod himself was honored in 1998 for the Harmonica Instrumentalist of the Year, and in 2008 Honey Piazza took home her very first Blues Music Award for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year.

In 2005, Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers landed a new home with the Los Angeles based Delta Groove Music, a label that has provided the band with many “firsts” in their long running career. For The Chosen Who, their Delta Groove debut, was an ambitious project that featured a host of special guests (a first in the Piazza discography), which included Finis Tasby, Kid Ramos, James Gadson, Johnny Dyer, Randy Chortkoff and the late Phil Guy, in addition to a bonus DVD of behind the scenes footage shot during the recording sessions. Their follow up release ThrillVille saw the departure of longtime Flyers’ bassist Bill Stuve and the band rechristening themselves as a quartet (another first!), while turning out another satisfying program of swinging West Coast and lowdown Chicago blues.

Now Piazza prepares to unveil his latest creation; a masterpiece and melding of soul, talent and art. There are plenty of thrills to be found as The Mighty Flyers continue to soar to new heights. IT’S ALL HERE…from the aggressive George Smith instrumental Sunbird, to the deep blues recital of Tell Me About It Sam, to the Jimmy Forrest jazz influenced Hey, Mrs. Jones. Piazza delights as he breathes life into funky new originals and pays loving tribute to a pantheon of blues greats including Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, and Slim Harpo, as well as many more surprises along the way. The time has arrived for Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers Blues Quartet to unleash… the Soul Monster!!!

CREDITS
Produced by Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers • Executive Producer: Randy Chortkoff • Recorded and Engineered by G. Preston Boebel (Clear Lake Audio, Burbank, CA) • Mixed by Rod Piazza(Clear Lake Audio, Burbank, CA) • Creative Fulfillment President of Delta Groove Music: Robert Fitzpatrick • Mastered by Robert Hadley (The Mastering Lab, Ojai, CA) • Artwork, Design & Photography by Joshua Temkin • Cover Photograph by Mark Fenichel (Fenifoto) • Liner Notes by Rod Piazza • Retail by Jeff Fleenor • Radio by Jody Best • Business Affairs by Malcolm Wiseman