Mark Rivera
US-American rock musician and music director (born 1953)
title: "Mark Rivera" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "musicians-from-brooklyn", "singers-from-new-york-(state)", "american-male-saxophonists", "american-rock-saxophonists", "1953-births", "american-rock-percussionists", "american-rock-keyboardists", "american-rock-guitarists", "american-male-guitarists", "american-multi-instrumentalists", "american-male-singers", "guitarists-from-new-york-(state)", "american-musicians-of-puerto-rican-descent", "20th-century-american-guitarists", "21st-century-american-saxophonists", "21st-century-american-keyboardists", "20th-century-american-keyboardists", "billy-joel-band-members", "ringo-starr-&-his-all-starr-band-members", "20th-century-american-flautists", "21st-century-american-flautists"] description: "US-American rock musician and music director (born 1953)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rivera" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary US-American rock musician and music director (born 1953) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Mark Rivera |
| image | MarkRivera-BillyJoelHydeP070723 (15 of 112) (53032753148) (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Rivera in 2023 |
| background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| instrument | |
| current_member_of | Billy Joel Band |
| past_member_of | Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band |
| genre | Rock, pop |
| occupation | |
| :: |
| name = Mark Rivera | image = MarkRivera-BillyJoelHydeP070723 (15 of 112) (53032753148) (cropped).jpg | caption = Rivera in 2023 | image_size = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | instrument = | current_member_of = Billy Joel Band | past_member_of = Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band | genre = Rock, pop | occupation =
Mark Rivera (born May 24, 1953) is an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and musical director who is mostly known for his work with Billy Joel. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, Rivera's musical abilities include vocals, guitar, bass, flute, percussion, hammer and chromium steel pipe, and keyboards.
Early life
Mark Rivera was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. His mother is American and his father is a Puerto Rican American.
Career
Rivera's first national exposure came with the band Tycoon in the mid-1970s. From this venture he met the legendary producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Lange, as part of an association with Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner, introduced Rivera to the "big leagues" of rock music, recording and performing.
Over the years, Rivera has worked with Hall & Oates, Peter Gabriel on his groundbreaking So album (where Rivera played on "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time"), Simon & Garfunkel, John Lennon, Billy Ocean, and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh.
Rivera has played with Billy Joel and his band since 1982, replacing Richie Cannata.
In 1995, Rivera joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, with which he would continue for several tours. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/MarkRivera1.jpg" caption="Rivera live with Billy Joel in 2008"] ::
In 2014, Rivera released his first solo album, Common Bond, which includes appearances by Joel, Starr, Nils Lofgren and Steve Lukather. The song "Money Money Money" was a finalist for 2014's Coolest Song in the World on Little Steven's Underground Garage.
In February 2023, Rivera released his autobiography, Sideman: In Pursuit of the Next Gig.
Musical director
Rivera's work as a musical director has gained recognition from his association with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, Billy Joel, and Elton John. In 2007, he was musical director for "Dear Mr. Fantasy: A Celebration for Jim Capaldi" featuring Steve Winwood, Joe Walsh, Paul Weller, Pete Townshend and Jon Lord. He also developed a career in promoting and producing events.
References
References
- (2014). "Mark Rivera – Common Bond". [[Discogs]].
- Ragogna, Mike. (April 11, 2014). "A Conversation with Mark Rivera". HuffPost.
- (February 18, 2014). "Mark Rivera, Longtime Billy Joel and Ringo Starr Collaborator, Releases Debut Album on Tuesday". ABC News Radio.
- (January 5, 2015). "The Coolest Songs in the World 2014". Underground Garage.
- Mettler, Mike. (December 10, 2014). "Mark Rivera on His Uncommon Bond With Vinyl". [[Sound & Vision (magazine).
- Klein, Tara. (April 12, 2023). "Ringo Starr: 'I Got Lucky When Mark Joined The Band'". [[Spin (magazine).
- Ayers, Chris. (November 22, 2007). "Dear Mr. Fantasy: A Celebration for Jim Capaldi". Exclaim!.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::