Marco Rizo

Although most widely known for composing the indelible theme to the tv screen classic I REALLY LIKE Lucy, Marco Rizo was also a renowned traditional pianist, deftly fusing traditional techniques using the newer approaches of swing and Afro-Cuban jazz. Given birth to in 1920 in Santiago, Cuba, he was the child of Sebastian Rizo, the main flutist using the Santiago Symphony Orchestra; at age 12, Rizo joined Havana’s Country wide Conservatory of Music, where he analyzed under Spanish composer Pedro San Juan, and by his mid-teens he was broadly regarded as among the nation’s most encouraging youthful pianists. By age 18 Rizo was the state pianist using the Havana Philharmonic, and following a 1939 appearance alongside the renowned Ernesto Lecuona, he received a scholarship or grant to New York’s Julliard College of Music to review under Rosina Lhevinne. After providing in World Battle II, he came back to NY, crossing paths having a child years friend called Desi Arnaz, right now the vocalist and bandleader behind such strikes as “Babalu” — Arnaz asked Rizo to become listed on his music group as pianist and arranger, and he continued to be using the group for over ten years. Once the CBS tv network made a decision to foundation a sitcom around the lives of Arnaz and his celebrity wife, Lucille Ball, Rizo penned the series’ Latin-tinged theme track, easily probably one of the most recognizable name tunes in Television history. During this time period he also documented some LPs for the Tico label, included in this The Latin Contact, Morning hours Melody and Piano and Percussion. After relocating to Hollywood in 1959, Rizo continued to be on the CBS payroll, providing because the pianist and musical movie director for the Bob Wish Radio Display and headlining his personal nightclub take action. He also organized recording classes for performers including Carmen Miranda, Danny Kaye and Yma Sumac. In 1989 Rizo received the Metallic Medal from the French Academy of Arts, Technology and Characters for his attempts to advertise and conserving traditional Latin music; he passed away in NEW YORK on Sept 8, 1998.