![]() ![]() Rizzi's writing for five guitars is nothing short of miraculous. The songs were solos by Christian harmonized for five guitars and humorously re-named based on their more famous titles as standards. The tracks included Breakfast Food, Frying Home, Anything But Love, Three for Two, New Baby, Rose's Loom, I Surrender and He's Got Riddum. The band on the Charlie Christian tribute album featured Pete Christlieb (ts) Tom Ranier (p) Tony Rizzi (g,arr,cond) Tim May, Mike Rosati, Jimmy Wyble and Grant Geissman (g) Tom Azarello (b) and John Perett (d). Rizzi and his five guitars became a recording and performing group, recording behind several artists, including Joe Pass. In 1975, Rizzi assembled a group comprised of studio musicians called Wirechoir and recorded as Tony Rizzi and His Five Guitars Plus Four Play Charlie Christian for Toledo Records. One of Rizzi's favorite guitarists was Charlie Christian, who pioneered the electrified instrument in Benny Goodman's band between 19. Rizzi quickly became adept at virtually all stringed instruments, including the banjo, ukulele, bouzouki and six-string bass, making him a first-call instrumentalist for movie soundtracks. After his discharge, Rizzi joined Les Brown and, in 1950, worked on staff for the NBC orchestra, which played behind many TV variety shows in the 1950s. The band was composed mostly of drafted professional musicians working for Paramount, Universal and other film studios. I suspect this band played for those airmen and women who ferried newly manufactured planes to L.A. He became part of the Air Ferry Command Band stationed in Long Beach, Calif. ![]() He began playing guitar at 19 and was drafted into the Army during World War II. ![]() Born in 1923, Rizzi grew up in Los Angeles and studied violin for 11 years before taking up the trumpet. There were just four in all-two are superb while the latter two are sticky pop efforts and largely forgettable.įirst, a little bit on Rizzi. Rizzi had a confident, swinging technique and superb taste, as evidenced on his small number of leadership albums. ![]() By the early '50s, Rizzi also was on many small-group sessions that included the Dave Pell Octet and Paul Smith Quartet. Tony Rizzi was a prolific Hollywood guitarist who started recording in the mid-1940s with bands led by Boyd Raeburn, Les Brown and Harry James. ![]()
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