Pat Rizzo Makes Musical Magic at Vickys In Indian Wells, Ca.

Pat Rizzo

Pat Rizzo

Jim DeJulio

Yarek Urant

Steve Neilen

I reviewed Pat Rizzo and his talented quartet a few times over the past few years, and yet every time I hear Pat and his musical friends, I always leave just overwhelmed by the talent of the group. Pat Rizzo has been a musical fixture here in the Valley for many years, but not everyone knows about his superb musical resume.  Pat Rizzo is a polished entertainer, he sings, plays Tenor, Baritone and Alto Sax and Flute.  He is funny and witty with his comments, and he evolved over the past years into one of the best singers in the Valley. While Riz has always been recognized as a great Sax player, his singing ability and style has been developing over the past several years.  Pat shared with me that in the many years that he played for Sinatra, he studied very closely the "Voice" every night from his seat on the stage directly in back of Frank. All those years of observation have certainly paid off for Pat who now draws just as many fans to hear him sing as well as to hear him play Sax.

Pat has performed and recorded with many diverse artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, the Tito Puente Orchestra, Conte Condoli, Chiz Harris, Sly and the Family Stone and the Group War. In addition, Pat is an excellent composer, arrange and producer.  When it comes to great music, Pat does it all! Pat has performed many times with Valley favorite, Mike Costley.

Pat's supporting cast consists of Steve Neilen on Drums, Jim DeJulio on Bass and Yarek Urant on Piano.  This talented trio has been playing with Pat for a couple of years now and they have become so tight together that the group has never sounded better.

Pat also shared with me that a major music label will be reissuing his past CD, "Riz, Gold For Silver" in the near future.  This is a dynamite Jazz CD, and I will publish more information as soon as I receive it.

You owe it to yourself to get over to Vickys  to take in the great sounds.  With no cover and no minimum, it is quite frankly the best value in town!  Pat and his quartet will be performing again on Monday and Tuesday starting February 25th and 26th,  so be sure to call and make your reservation.

Carolyn Martinez Very Impressive at Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells, Ca

Carolyn Martinez

Roger King, Carolyn Martinez,Larry Holloway and David Ring
(Photo by Herb Koenig)

Roger King, Larry Holloway, David Ring

Carolyn Martinez has been singing to large crowds at Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells on Thursday nights. I had the opportunity to hear Carolyn sing over the past couple years and have always been impressed with her voice and the way she approaches lyrics. Carolyn is one of the few singers today that can sing lyrics with believable emotion convincing the listener that the lyric is really part of their personal life story. Carolyn is a joy to listen to and she sings only the best of songs from the "Great American Songbook". On Thursday evening, Carolyn impressed her audience singing many American classics and also sang several songs in Portuguese and Spanish. In my opinion, she is the best singer of Jobim in Desert.

Carolyn's voice reminds me of the great voice of singing star Eydie Gorme, but Carolyn's voice is younger, softer and her range is very impressive.

Carolyn was joined tonight by three top musicians, David Ring on Piano, Larry Holloway on Bass and Roger King on Drums.  David Ring has been performing in the Desert area for quite a while but I never really heard him play for an entire evening until tonight. He is a great Piano player, and his Jazz solos were fresh, new and remarkably constructed. A real treat for any Jazz fan.  Larry Holloway just keeps impressing his audiences with his outstanding Bass playing. Tonight was the first time that I got to heard Roger King play drums, and he did an impressive job playing soft when required and never missing a beat when the music got hot.

Carolyn and her group appear at Vicky's every Thursday from 6:30 to 10:00.  I understand that on February 17 the group will move to Sunday nights from 6:30 to 10:00.  Don't miss the chance to hear Carolyn sing, you will not be disappointed.    

Pat Rizzo, He Does It All At Vicky's Lounge in Indian Wells

  On Tuesday March 8, I made it over to "The Desert Home" of live music in the Cochella Valley, Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells.  Vicky's is always the go to place to hear music. What other place in the Valley has live music 7 days a week?  None that I know of. My mission this night was to see the "Tony Bennett" show put together by Pat Rizzo.  I have seen Pat Rizzo performing as a member of many groups in the desert, but I really wanted to hear him leading a group so I could get a comprehensive view of his talent.  My first comment is that there is no doubt that Pat Rizzo has one of the strongest followings in the desert. And for good reason because Pat really does it all, plays tenor and alto sax, is a great flautist and has a great singing voice. In tonight's show, I was really impressed with Pat's sax playing, but the real surprise for me was how well Pat sings.  He sounds just like Tony Bennett. This is not an act. Pat's voice is really very similar to the great Mr. Bennett. Pat is not trying to sound like Mr. Bennett. He has an excellent voice and range of his own that is really exceptional.  Pat sang a lot of songs without one note he off key.  Remarkable for any singer.  I was really impressed with his ability to hit every high notes. Young singers could learn at lot listening to Pat.  Being a sax player myself, I can only tell you that I love the way Pat improvises his solos.  I only wish that I could have achieved the tone and dexterity that Pat puts forth every night.  Being the high- level musician that Pat is, it was no surprise to see that he had added the most professional sidemen to support him.  His pianist was the "great" Yarek Urant.  I have heard Yarek play for many other jazz groups but this is the first time I got to experience what Yarek could do with standards.  And the answer is he is one of the best pianist I have ever heard, bar none. If I could sing, I would want Yarek in back of me on the piano.  Brian Nova was on stand up bass.  I never heard Brian play, but I have heard great reviews from lots of musicians that know Brian.  Brian told me that bass is really not his best instrument, but not from my perspective.  He was perfect for the group.  I intend to catch Brian at one of his performances at "Beaux Arts". I can't wait to hear him play guitar.  The last member of the group was the drummer, Steve Neilen, whom I had not heard before.  He provided the perfect 4th for Pat's group and, his backup rhythums were solid.

One of the great things about live music events in the desert is that more times than not, talented people in the audience come up to sing a number or two.  Tonight was no exception.  Pat introduced Beverly Jensen aka: Beverly J. Leys and asked her to come up to sing.  What a treat she was!  Beverly has a great voice and a wonderfully way with a lyric. She was given a rousing ovation after she sang a couple of standards. Beverly could be staring in her own show, she was that good!  There was one other guest that came up from the audience to sing, Denny Seidenfeld.  Denny was a burning ball of energy and that's how he sings.  He did a great job especially since he later told me that performing is just a hobby with him.  Only in the desert do you get this high level of talent every where you go.