Mark Rivera calls himself a “sideman.”

In fact, that’s the name of his new book, Sideman – In Pursuit of the Next Gig.

A better term for Mark might be “jack of all trades.” Though perhaps best known for his saxophone playing, he also plays guitar, flute, keyboards, and he sings.

Working over the years both in the studio and on the road with artists such as Billy Joel, Foreigner, Hall & Oates, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr and more, he has been a part of the soundtrack of our lives for more than 40 years.

Mark and Jim Monaghan first met during the Foreigner 4 tour and he connected with Jim to talk about some of the amazing stories in the new book.

• Billy Joel - Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

  This song has long been a favorite of Billy Joel fans and this live performance from Long Island is outstanding.

  From Billy’s piano intro to members of the band enjoying a glass of wine together in their own little onstage “restaurant,” this great live rendition shows off some of Mark’s finest work.

• Foreigner - Urgent

  In Mark’s new book Sideman – In Pursuit of the Next Gig, he tells a great story of receiving a call from producer Mutt Lange who needs him to head down to Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village to lay down a track on a song for Foreigner.

  Though Junior Walker had already been signed on to do the solo in the middle of the song, the band wanted another sax part throughout the track.

  After hours of take after take, what did they ultimately use? Mark’s very first take, of course.

• Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

  Mark describes the saxophone part in this song as having a Stevie Wonder “Superstition” kind of vibe to it. This is another case of the first take being the best.

• Ringo Starr's 70th Birthday Surprise - Birthday

  How would YOU like to be the one to tell Paul McCartney “Um…Paul…I know you wrote the song, but you’re playing it wrong” in front of the likes of Joe Walsh, Rick Derringer, and Edgar Winter?

  That takes a rather LARGE set to even THINK about trying to pull that off.

  And yet, as Mark details in the book, as the director of Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band, that is EXACTLY what Mark had to do in rehearsal for Ringo’s 70th birthday party at Radio City Music Hall where (unbeknownst to Ringo), they were planning to perform the Beatles classic “Birthday.”

• Hall & Oates - Missed Opportunity

  Mark was both in the recording studio and on the road with Hall & Oates for 1988’s Ooh Yeah! album which yielded three Top 40 singles (including this song) for the duo.

  Check out Mark’s gorgeous tone on this track.

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