Mark Rivera

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Mark Rivera 2008

Mark Rivera (* 1952 in Brooklyn , New York ) is an American music director , event manager and rock musician , best known as the longtime saxophonist and keyboardist for Billy Joel .

Career

Rivera attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in Manhattan . In addition to saxophone and keyboard, he also learned guitar , percussion instrument and singing . In 1972 Rivera went on tour with the soul duo Sam & Dave . Rivera had his first recordings in the mid-1970s with the band Tycoon . During this project, the musician met producer Robert Lange , who had contracts with Mick Jones and Lou Gramm from the band Foreigner , among others . From 1980 Rivera finally worked with Foreigner, in 1982 he joined Billy Joel's backing band , to which he has been a member ever since.

Rivera also worked over the years as a studio musician for Hall & Oates , Simon and Garfunkel , John Lennon , Billy Ocean , Joe Walsh , Kurtis Blow and Peter Gabriel , whose seminal album Sun , where he Bläsersätze for Sledgehammer and Big Time arranged and also played along myself. In 1995 Rivera joined Ringo Starr's All Starr Band Tour . In the same year he also became the music director of Ringo Starr, later also of Billy Joel and Elton John . His company, the Mark Rivera Entertainment Group , also organizes events for companies such as HBO , IBM , Merrill Lynch , AT&T and Northwest Airlines . Rivera now plays in the Ringo Starr Allstar Band with Ringo Starr, Gregg Bissionette, Steve Lukather, Richard Page and others.

In 2014 he released his first own album.

Discography

  • 2014 Common Bond , Red River Entertainment

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b markrivera.com, About Mark Rivera ( Memento from May 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Mark Rivera, Longtime Billy Joel and Ringo Starr Collaborator, Releases Debut Album on Tuesday. ABC Radio, 2014, accessed December 25, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Mark Rivera - Common Bond at Discogs

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rivera, Mark
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rock musician and music director
DATE OF BIRTH 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York , USA