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April 20, 2021

Pat Rizzo Has Died At Age 79

Sly & The Family Stone - Ha Ha, Hee Hee written by Pat Rizzo

Pat Rizzo, a saxophonist who played with Sly & The Family Stone, War, Tito Puente and Frank Sinatra, died on Thursday. He was 79.

Rizzo, in 1970, was “recommended to replace a saxophonist in the groundbreaking funk band Sly & The Family Stone. Sly Stone called him into his bathroom and asked if he was any good. Rizzo said yeah and Sly gave him the job without hearing him play. One night, they went to a recording studio and Rizzo watched Sly jam with Jimi Hendrix. After that, they dreamed of fusing rock and funk with jazz. They started stretching funk in a new jazz direction.”

Read more at the Palm Springs Desert Sun.

April 5, 2021

‘Summer Of Soul’ Featuring Sly & The Family Stone To Be Released In July

Sly & The Family Stone in Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Questlove’s documentary, Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), will arrive in theaters and on Hulu on July 2. It delves into the history of the Harlem Cultural Festival which took place in 1969 over the course of six weeks at Harlem’s Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The lineup for those shows included Sly & The Family Stone and the documentary features never-before-seen footage.

Summer of Soul had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in February. It was awarded both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Documentary category.