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ROD
PIAZZA "FOR THE CHOSEN WHO"
Source: Living Blues
Date: 07/2005
Writer: Lee Hildebrand |
"Blues
music, man, I mean, it ain_t an easy road for anybody,"
Rod Piazza states during a fascinating DVD on the making
of For The Chosen Who that accompanies the CD. "It_s
a few of _em made some money, but how many of _em is
just makin_ it? And if you in this really to make a
lot of money‹I mean, come on, man, you got into
it because you love it here," he says, pointing
to his heart, "and you can_t help but do it."
The Los Angeles harmonica ace and vocalist has been
cutting records for 38 years now, and this one ain_t
about to make him rich, either, but it so overflows
with musical riches that it sure oughtta. On For The
Chosen Who ,the most ambitious recording of his career,
Piazza augments the current edition of his Mighty
Flyers‹pianist Honey Piazza, guitarist Henry
Carvajal, bassist Bill Stuve, and drummer Paul Falulo‹with
a cast of guest musicians including this issue_s cover
artist Phil Guy and guitarist Kid Ramos, singing bassist
Finis Tasby, vocalist Johnny Dyer, and drummer James
Gadson.
The program is made up of eight well-chosen oldies,
including Jimmy Reed_s I_m A Love You , the Gene Allison
blues ballad You Can Make It If You Try , the Red
Prysock instrumental Shoestring , John Lee Williamson_s
Ground Hog Blues , and Little Walter_s Got To Find
My Baby , plus two originals by Mr. Piazza, one by
Mrs. Piazza, and another by producer Randy Chortkoff.
The crew doesn_t attempt to replicate the old songs
but reinvents them through consistently inventive
arrangements. The Reed tune, for instance, begins
with two bars of Honey alone, playing Reed_s trademark
guitar pattern on piano with the pinkie finder and
thumb of her left hand, before the full band kicks
in; later, during Rod_s soaring solo, on which he
doesn_t sound a thing like Reed, a female vocal group
chimes in with "ah-huh-huh, yeah, yeah"‹a
riff like the one Etta James and the Moonglows sang
on Chuck Berry_s Back In The U.S.A. Another of many
subtle touches is the way Rod blends his harp with
David Woodruff_s baritone sax on Blues Player , a
Rod Piazza original.
Special note should be made of the four tracks to
which Gadson contributes, particularly the way he
kicks funk under Guy on Piazza_s Description Of A
Fool. Gadson has been among the very greatest and
most prolific studio drummers in the history of soul
music, and his recent involvement in the Southern
California blues scene is cause for celebration.
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