Dominique’s sincerity, his unique style and his openness to music from around the world make him one of the most highly regarded musicians on the international scene.
Di Piazza discovered the bass in 1979. Already a self-taught guitarist, DiPiazza developed a distinctive, but unorthodox ‘closed palm’ technique of picking with the right hand thumb, index, and middle fingers, giving him a speed not often heard in electric bass players.. This unique approach enabled a virtuosity and style that is quite unusual in the world of bass. A defining example is the track « Marie » a flagship piece for solo bass from the 90s, found on the album « Que alegria » by John McLaughlin. This right hand style gave birth to the « four-finger picking » technique later popularized in Europe and the US by several new-generation bassists including Matthew Garrison, Adam Nitti and Hadrien Feraud. Dominique’s great knowledge of bebop, his gypsy and neo-classical influences, his lyrical style and his advanced harmonic concept have combined to make him one of the most innovative bassists in the world today.
Dominique started his career in 1982 at the Hot Club in Lyon with guitarist Michel Pérez.
In 1986 he moved to Paris and began touring with violinist Didier Lockwood, drummer André Ceccarelli and pianist Gordon Beck. The following year he toured Europe with Gil Evans and the Big Bang Lumière de Laurent Cugny, a group that was immortalized on the Santander album, winner of the Prix de l’Académie Charles-Cros and in 1989 he recorded a trio album called Padre, with Jean-Pierre Como and Stéphane Huchard.
In 1991, Dominique joined the John McLaughlin Trio along with percussionist Trilok Gurtu. After a world tour of over 300 concerts, the album Que alegria was released in 1992. McLaughlin was then quoted as saying of DiPiazza: “His talent is immense–he’s one of the best bassists in the world.”The same year, Dominique recorded with pianist Michel Petrucianni on the album The First, with Michel’s brother Philippe Petrucianni on guitar and Victor Jones on drums.
In 2000, the Front Page Trio was created with Bireli Lagrene on guitar and Dennis Chambers on drums. They toured Europe and released a self-titled album (Frontpage) that scored them a Victoire de la Musique award for Best Jazz Album of 2001.
In 2005 and 2006 DiPiazza toured in Réunion, Mauritius, Madagascar and 10 other countries in Africa, accompanied by Meddy Gerville – a pianist from Reunion, Jean-Marie Ecay on guitar, and drummer Horacio Hernandez. This tour led to a new CD called Jazz Amwin, which has been released independently.
In 2008, John McLaughlin called upon Dominique’s talents once again for a European tour with The 4th Dimension, also including Gary Husband on keys and percussion, and Mark Mondésir on drums. Together the band played more than 30 concerts all across Europe and released a DVD Live @ Belgrade. Around the same time, Dominique assembled the Di Piazza Trio with Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras and drummer Manhu Roche. The trio’s album, Princess Sita, was released in the USA in August of 2008.
From 2009 to 2011, Dominique criss-crossed the world with a wide variety of artists.
The album Frontpage award for Best Jazz Album of 2001.
“The Princess Sita, that goes beyond the sound of bass … Di Piazza takes his music to an extreme that few in jazz would pursue: He’s created a group identity that is proficient, cohesive and, if it’s possible to guess a musician’s intent from an album’s production, largely ego-free” jazztimes
“One of the most impressive electric bassists on the jazz scene since Jaco Pastorious, Dominique Di Piazza deserves more opportunities to record as a leader.” Ken Dryden