Sideman
In Pursuit of the Next

3.5 Stars I was intrigued to read this one because I've seen Mark Rivera a few times in concert with musical acts I admire. I saw him perform with Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band, Billy Joel, and at The Fest for Beatles Fans. I was particularly struck seeing him perform at Beatlefest when I heard......more

4.0/5 As a sax player, and someone who loves music and finds the music world interesting, I really enjoyed this memoir. It tells the story of Mark Rivera who is best known as being Billy Joel’s saxophonist, while also talking about the struggles of the pandemic and what goes on behind the scenes of b......more

Kind of disappointed with this one. I'm a big Billy Joel fan so I was hoping for some stories and insight on recording the albums and the tours. He doesn't even mention the Russia trip he took when Billy played over there. He's also been featured on many other artists' albums but only mentions a few......more

This book was an interesting look at the world of music from someone that has to hustle for each and every gig. Sure they hitch on to a tour or an artist and that relationship can last for a short time or a lifetime, depending on how it goes. Years with Billy Joel was how I knew Mark Rivera and his......more