Nicknamed Pizza Man, jazz bassonnist, saxophonist, and flautist Ray Pizzi was born in Everett, Massachusetts on January 19, 1943. When he began his musical adventure, he originally studied the clarinet. In the 1960s, his musical training took him to both the Boston Conservatory and the Berklee College of Musis (in Boston). He became a public school teacher in 1964, a job position that would last until 1969. During this period, he took time to tour with the Woody Herman Orchestra in 1966, but returned to his day job afterwards. He relocated to Southern California in 1969 and spent the first few years of the 1970s working with jazz greats Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Shelly Manne, Frank Zappa, Willie Bob, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. Ray Pizzi released Appassionato, his first album as a leader, in 1975. He followed that album with Conception (1977) and The Love Letter (1979) before recording several collaborations with pianist Frank Marocco. In the 1980s, Ray Pizzi became an in-demand session musician and worked with many jazz, pop, and soul artists over the years including Nancy Wilson. Ray Pizzi also performed on many popular film and TV soundtracks and can be heard in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi during the cantina scene.