by Lola Rossi-Meza
You can catch the legendary saxophonist and vocalist Pat Rizzo and his band featuring Yarek Urant on piano, bassist Jim DiJulio and Steve Neilen on drums, performing in the lounge at Vicky’s of Santa Fe, 45-100 Club Drive in Indian Wells, from 6:30 until 10 p.m., every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. (760) 345-9770. They play all of your favorite standards featuring his incomparable arrangements of swing, jazz and Latin music. “I love it here,” Rizzo said recently, “the staff is first class and the food and quality of service is the finest in the Valley. And did I mention they have a nice big dance floor which complements the ambience of the room?”
The sound of his voice has been compared to his good friend and colleague singer Tony Bennett, but his approach is strictly his own and occasionally he’ll delight the audience with a few of his original compositions. Rizzo, or “Riz” as he is known by his musical peers, is a veteran of the live music scene since starting his own band at the age of twelve in Astoria, New York with his childhood friend the late pianist Andy Fraga, Sr.
Along with being a versatile musician and singer, he is an accomplished composer, arranger and producer and has toured and recorded with such diverse acts as Frank Sinatra, Sly and the Family Stone, War, Tito Puente, The Temptations, Ry Cooder and the Allman Brothers, to name a few. He has recorded four of his own CDs which showcase performances by Andy Fraga, Conte Condoli, Chiz Harris, Marshall Hawkins, Jim DiJulio, Steve Neilen and Yarek Urant. His music features his signature vocal and horn arrangements along with several original compositions.
The trio of musicians that perform with him are just as accomplished and feature some of the Valley’s finest players. His band features the fluid playing of bassist Jim DiJulio, who performed with the staff orchestra for the Mike Douglas Show for 18 years. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he studied with the symphony there before making his mark on the early ‘70s “Philly Sound” and then moving to the West Coast to perform with a literal Who’s Who of jazz musicians and vocalists. A member of the orchestra that backed up Frank Sinatra for countless shows, he would also perform at Sinatra’s home here in the Desert. In Los Angeles, he performed with composer and television personality Steve Allen for over 25 years and his bass has been heard on numerous soundtracks for movies and television. A band leader in his own right, he has appeared on stage at such prestigious festivals as the Monterey, Topeka and Playboy Jazz Festivals.
Pianist Yarek Urant has performed with Rizzo almost as many years as he has been living in the Desert. He studied trumpet at the prestigious Lyceum in Katowice, Poland and then started his musical career playing in bands which performed Dixieland, Traditional and swing music throughout Europe, Canada and Japan. In his early twenties he switched to piano and by intensely studying many of the great jazz artists of the States and Europe he eventually forged his own impeccable sound, voicings and delivery.
Steve Neilen keeps the group anchored with his solid drum playing which was inherited from his father Sam Neilen, who was also a first-call drummer in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Eventually making it out to the West Coast in the early seventies, Neilen performed with several different recording artists in Los Angeles before hooking up with singer Mike Costley and began performing six nights a week. He’s worked with bands in some of the best lounges in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Lake Tahoe and Reno.
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