Mark Rivera
Encyclopedia
Mark Rivera is a musician
, musical director and corporate entertainment provider. In addition to playing soprano
, alto
, tenor
and baritone
saxophone
s, Rivera's musical talents encompass vocals
, guitar
, percussion
and keyboards
.
in Manhattan
.
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 ground breaking So
album - where Rivera played and arranged the horns for "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
, which he would continue with on several tours.
, the Northwest All Star Band, Billy Joel and Elton John
. He has also developed a growing career in promoting and producing corporate entertainment and related events. His company, The Mark Rivera Entertainment Group, has produced events for HBO, IBM
, Merrill Lynch
, AT&T
, Coldwell Banker
, The China Club, Northwest Airlines
, Oakwood Corporate Housing, and numerous trade associations, charitable events, and local/national educational groups.
, Kaman Music and Korg
USA.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, musical director and corporate entertainment provider. In addition to playing soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, Rivera's musical talents encompass vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
.
Education
Rivera attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing ArtsFiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
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 JonesMick Jones (Foreigner)
Michael Leslie "Mick" Jones is an English guitarist, songwriter, and record producer best known as the founding member of the rock band Foreigner.-Life and career:...
and Lou Gramm
Lou Gramm
Lou Gramm is an American rock vocalist and songwriter best known for his role as the lead vocalist and co-writer of many of the songs for the rock band Foreigner. He also had a successful solo career...
of Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, introduced Rivera to the "big leagues" of rock music, recording and performing.
Over the years, Rivera has worked with Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
on his ground breaking So
So (album)
So is the fifth studio album by British rock musician Peter Gabriel, released in 1986. Many of its songs reflect a more conventional pop-writing style and became radio hits, while others still retain Gabriel's dark, brooding sense of experimentalism.It is Peter Gabriel's second album produced by...
album - where Rivera played and arranged the horns for "Sledgehammer
Sledgehammer (song)
"Sledgehammer" is a song by British musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album So. It hit number one in Canada on 21 July 1986 where it spent four weeks; number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States on 26 July 1986; and number four in the UK singles chart, thanks in part to a...
" and "Big Time", Simon & Garfunkel, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...
, and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
.
Rivera has played with Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and his band since 1982, replacing Richie Cannata
Richie Cannata
Richie Cannata is an American music producer, multi-instrumentalist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in the Billy Joel band alongside Doug Stegmeyer and Liberty DeVitto. After leaving the band in 1981, he opened Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York...
.
In 1995, Rivera joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
To date, Ringo Starr has toured with eleven versions of his All-Starr Band where "everybody on stage is a star in their own right." Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band is a concept that was created by producer David Fishof...
, which he would continue with on several tours.
Musical Director
Rivera's work as a musical director has gained recognition from his association with Ringo StarrRingo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, the Northwest All Star Band, Billy Joel and Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. He has also developed a growing career in promoting and producing corporate entertainment and related events. His company, The Mark Rivera Entertainment Group, has produced events for HBO, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker is a large real estate franchise founded in 1906 in San Francisco.Coldwell Banker has an international presence, with offices on six continents, 46 countries and territories...
, The China Club, Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
, Oakwood Corporate Housing, and numerous trade associations, charitable events, and local/national educational groups.
Endorsements
Rivera's professional endorsements include Harman International, YamahaYamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
, Kaman Music and Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
USA.