Matthew Prozialeck (born September 3, 1989), also known as Matt Charles and Matt Prozialeck is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

harmonica player. He is best known for being a member of Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers and also for his solo and session work. He has performed with many different blues artists and has appeared on several charting releases.

Background

Matthew Prozialeck was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He is the son of Scientist Walter Prozialeck.He grew up in

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 149,540, making it the state's ...

, west of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He graduated from

Naperville North High School Naperville North High School is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Mill Street in the northern-central part of Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It’s a part ...

in 2008 and was a member of the 2007 8A state champion varsity football team. He graduated from

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

in 2013 with a degree in Graphic design. He played trumpet as a child but never played the harmonica until he lived in the college art dormitory. While at school he was inspired by

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

, Howlin Wolf,

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, and

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago ...

to learn the harmonica. He then began to study

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

and jam in clubs in Chicago.

Career

Early career

He started playing professionally in college. He learned to play the harmonica and played around the local blues scene for years. He was a member of The Ed Burns Rhythm & Blues Revue for most of 2014. During that time he began using his middle name Charles going by Matt or Matthew Charles due to the difficulty some have pronouncing his last name. In 2015, Prozialeck relocated to

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

join the Vizztone band, Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers. The Delta Swingers toured nationally and were semifinalists in the

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, ...

in 2017. At the age of 27 he was the second youngest harmonica player in the competition and the youngest to reach the semifinals that year. His first album with the Delta Swingers, ''Big Road'', was released on Vizztone in October 2017 to positive reviews. In a review of the album by Daniel Pavlica of The Rocktologist, his playing was recognized and the reviewer said he "played with poignancy and lusty confidence". Big Road peaked at number 9 on the Roots Music Report Blues Albums Chart and was ranked number 52 on their best of 2018 list. A 2018 article in ''Blues Blast'' Magazine described Prozialeck as the band's "secret weapon". In 2017, he became an official endorser for Seydel harmonicas. The Delta Swingers were nominated for a Boston Music Award and three New England Music Awards in 2018. The band opened for Roomful Of Blues,

Lil' Ed Williams Lil' Ed Williams (born April 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois) is an American blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, he has built up a loyal following. Biography In childhood, Williams and his half- ...

, James Montgomery and

Jason Ricci Jason Ricci (born February 3, 1974) is an American harmonica player and singer. In addition to his solo albums, Ricci has appeared as a guest harmonica player on albums with Johnny Winter, Terence Blanchard, Nick Curran, Ana Popović, Walte ...

among many others during his tenure. He appeared on their album ''The Christmas Swing'' which would be his last release with the band in December 2018.

Solo career

In January 2019, he left Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers to record and focus on solo and session work. He played with GA-20 in the beginning of 2018 before their trio lineup was established. Later in May of 2018, he played on a couple songs for the sessions for GA-20's debut album, ''Lonely Soul'', as a sideman. It was released in October 2019 on Karma Chef Records and peaked at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Blues Chart. He also appeared on the "GA-20 with

and

Luther Dickinson Luther Andrews Dickinson (born January 18, 1973) is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi Allstars and the son of record producer Jim Dickinson. He is also known for being a guitarist for The Black Crowes. He hosts '' Guita ...

"' 7 inch single, playing harp on the B-side "Sit Down Baby" and singing backup on the A-side, "Naggin' On My Mind". He also appeared playing harmonica on their digital single "I Ain't Got You" in 2020. In October 2019 he co-founded the Boston based blues band The Wandering Ones. The Wandering Ones' first release appeared on The Rum Bar Records compilation Rabble Rousers. Prozialeck took a hiatus from performing during the COVID Pandemic. The Wandering Ones performed at the final Viva East Rockabilly festival in 2022. In 2024 Prozialeck released his debut solo album Highland Avenue. It was produced by Matthew Stubbs and recorded at Q Division Studios in Boston.

Discography

Albums

Solo singles

Singles as sideman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prozialeck, Matthew 1989 births Living people American blues harmonica players American blues singers Musicians from Illinois Musicians from Philadelphia Northern Illinois University alumni People from Naperville, Illinois