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| Pat Rizzo is the saxophone player who joined Sly & the Family Stone in 1972 at a time where the group was experiencing some inner turmoil and it was not clear whether Jerry Martini would remain a member of the group. One of Sly's bodyguards knew Pat (they both came from New York City) and had him come by the Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles for an audition, which occurred in the hotel bathroom. Pat got the gig and moved to alto sax when it became clear that Jerry would stay with Sly & the Family Stone. |
| Pat remained with Sly until his last Warner Bros. album Ain't But the One Way (1982), an album which featured the song "Ha Ha, Hee Hee," a Pat Rizzo composition. According to Pat, the song is a storyline about Sly's lifestyle. He and Sly have kept in touch since that time. |
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| Pat now lives in Palm Springs, CA and continues to perform and record music. Jazz In The Pines, the renowned Idyllwild Jazz Festival, has become an annual event for Pat since its inception four years ago. He is now putting the finishing touches on a new CD, to be available at the next festival. The CD will feature his vocals on frequently requested love and swing songs artfully blended with his melodious horns. His last solo CD featured Greg Errico on several tracks. |
| Recently, Pat Rizzo and his orchestra joined forces with pianist-vocalist Frankie Randall in presenting a weekly extravaganza at Casino Morongo. This musical entourage will be hitting the concert tour, armed with original arrangements of Frank Sinatra's hit recordings. The tour, which began in October 1997, is entitled "World On A String" and was featured at the Superstar Theater in Atlantic City, New Jersey from October 12-18. |
| (Thanks to Jeff Stover, Pat Rizzo and Joel Selvin) |
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