Sideman: In Pursuit of the Next Gig

While most successful sidemen are lucky to spend a decade in the music business, multi-instrumentalist Mark Rivera is working on his fifth.

Best known as Billy Joel’s saxophonist as well as Musical Director for Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Rivera has shared the stage with some of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s greatest performers, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Simon & Garfunkel, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Tony Bennett, Sheila E., Joe Walsh, Hall & Oates, and Peter Gabriel.

How does he do it while avoiding the typical pitfalls—falling out of favor with the band, burnout, depression?

A devoted father and husband for nearly forty years, Rivera’s recollections inSideman demonstrate that while he struggled to balance the two worlds—a rock ‘n’ roller circling the globe and a regular guy worried about putting food on the table—his body’s compulsion to...