Like a lot of jazz combos, most blues bands consist of a well known leader and whatever hot, young players are willing to work cheap that year. Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers are the exception to the rule, however, for the singer/harmonica player/leader has worked with pianist Honey Piazza (his wife) and bassist Bill Stuve for more than 20 years. When longtime guitarist Alex Schultz left in 1995, Rod replaced him with Rick "L.A. Holmes" Holmstrom, a bandleader himself; longtime drummer Jimi Bott was replaced by seasoned L.A. veteran Steve Mugalian. The high standards and stability of the ensemble pay off on Tough and Tender, the quintet's first studio album in five years, for the swinging syncopation in these West Coast blues is as impressive as the solos. With the exception of one Holmstrom instrumental, all the tunes on Tough and Tender were written by Rod and/or Honey. The songs aren't very distinctive or original, but they serve their purpose as platforms for the playing. Rod gets such a fat, blustery tone from his mouth harp that it often sounds like an R&B saxophone, albeit with more vocal-like phrasing. Honey's two-fisted boogie-woogie piano surrounds the melody line in bee-like swarms of harmony, and Holmstrom's clean, percussive guitar fills remind one of Charles Brown's piano work. If the material isn't memorable, the performances are. --Geoffrey Himes