Honey Piazza
Encyclopedia
Debra "Honey" Piazza is an American
piano
player. She is a founding member of the band Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers
.
on April 24, 1951. Her father was in the Air Force
and her family moved to England
for three years, when she was a child. There she started taking classical piano
lessons at the age of four and pursued the lessons until the age of 16 after they had moved back to California. She enjoyed playing jam sessions with her friends, but she really discovered piano blues
when she heard a record of Otis Spann
. For the next two years she would practise extensively.
In 1972 she went to Chicago
and played with a number of legendary blues musicians. After her return to California she saw a concert of Rod Piazza
, who at the time was playing with a band called Bacon Fat. Being immensely impressed with Rod's music she arranged to meet him for an audition. As a result she joined the band and has played with Rod Piazza ever since.
They got married several years later and reside in Riverside, California
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
player. She is a founding member of the band Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers
Rod Piazza
Rod Piazza is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers since 1980 which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza...
.
Background
Honey was born in Fairfield, CaliforniaFairfield, California
Fairfield is a city located in Solano County in Northern California, USA. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately from the city center of both cities, approximately from the city center of Oakland, less than from Napa Valley, 18...
on April 24, 1951. Her father was in the Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
and her family moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for three years, when she was a child. There she started taking classical piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons at the age of four and pursued the lessons until the age of 16 after they had moved back to California. She enjoyed playing jam sessions with her friends, but she really discovered piano blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
when she heard a record of Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
. For the next two years she would practise extensively.
In 1972 she went to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and played with a number of legendary blues musicians. After her return to California she saw a concert of Rod Piazza
Rod Piazza
Rod Piazza is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers since 1980 which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza...
, who at the time was playing with a band called Bacon Fat. Being immensely impressed with Rod's music she arranged to meet him for an audition. As a result she joined the band and has played with Rod Piazza ever since.
They got married several years later and reside in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
Discography
(Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers)- For The Chosen Who - 2005
- Keepin' It Real - 2004
- Beyond The Source - 2001
- Here and Now - 1999
- Tough and Tender - 1997
- Live at B.B. King's Club - 1994
- Alphabet Blues - 1992
- In The Dark - 1991