The Multi-talented Musician: Danny Pelfrey

by Dawn R. Starr

Local musician Danny Pelfrey sat in on saxophone with Tower of Power's superlative horn section during their recent performance at Castoro Winery. Founded in 1968, Tower of Power is known for their upbeat "urban soul music." Danny used to be a regular member of the band, but now only occasionally plays with them.  Even though he is no longer in the band, during the recent performance, he still executed all of the synchronized, choreographed horn section moves.

When meeting with Danny, his friendly, humble demeanor belied his musical talents, and many accomplishments, awards, and accolades. While his achievements and honors are too many to mention, some of the highlights are his having won two Emmys, with a total of nine nominations. He has six BMI Awards, and a Video Premiere Award for Best Video for the animated film, Joseph: King of Dreams. He received an Emmy for his Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for the Guiding Light.

Danny related that he got his start playing guitar at age nine in his home state of West Virginia. He cited Chet Atkins as his first musical hero. Wanting to play with other musicians in the school band, he took up the trumpet, on which he excelled. He wrote his first musical arrangement by age 13, and after encouragement from his teachers, he began conducting. While still in high school, he began playing with big bands and jazz groups at a local college.

Danny attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music, the world's foremost institute for the study of jazz and American music. He honed his performance skills, while also focusing on composing and arranging. He found the vibrant Boston music scene very inspiring.

After accepting a teaching job in Canada, Danny started playing with local musicians. Always fascinated with different instruments, he took up tabla, a type of Indian percussion instrument, which he played during performances with a sitar player. Danny continued to expand the many instruments he played, which included the flute and alto saxophone. He was particularly drawn to the sax which he felt had the flexibility of the woodwinds and the power of brass. It was the instrument for which Danny would become best known.

Danny moved to Los Angeles where he did session work and began touring with many prominent artists including Diana Ross, Carole King, Eric Clapton, Melissa Manchester, and many others. He especially relished the time he spent playing guitar and sax while touring the world with Carole King, as well as doing recordings and televisions specials with her. When asked about a memorable experience, he recounted that he performed with Diana Ross during the infamous 1983 deluge in Central Park. During the downpour and lightning, he and the other musicians had to flee on foot back to get back to their hotel.

Danny has recorded with such stellar musicians as Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, and James Taylor, and was a song producer for Usher, Brad Paisley, LeeAnn Rimes, Ashanti, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, and numerous others.

Danny said he is "extremely blessed to have a varied and rich musical career." He has played as a soloist on numerous television shows including the Wonder Years, Arsenio Hall, David Letterman, The Tonight Show, and Roseanne. In addition, he was the score composer for many popular television shows in the United States, wrote commercials for large companies such as Nissan, Ford, Toyota, and California Lottery, and has composed a variety of music that can be heard worldwide. He also has written music for over 50 interactive games including the Star Trek series for Activision. His concert works have been performed by the Knoxville Symphony, the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He has shared concert programs with John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Igor Stravinsky, and Charles Ives. Danny shared he particularly enjoy writing "rich and soulful" music. He is presently working on an animated film slated for worldwide release.

Moving to the Central Coast in 2009, Danny found the local music scene to be "very vibrant" with lots of good music. He noted that Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (PAC) also brings in great performers. Danny presently mostly does composing, arranging, and producing for various media. Locally, he plays sax, flute and guitar with the Barflyz, which consists of Kenny Lee Lewis (guitarist for the Steve Miller band), Diane Steinberg Lewis (award-winning pianist and vocalist), Ken Hustad on bass, and Dean Giles on drums. The Barflyz play acoustic pop-cabaret music including jazz, pop, rock, Latin, TV themes, Broadway tunes, and the blues. The Barflyz next performance is set for January 18th at D'Anbino Vineyard and Cellars tasting room, which is near the train station in Paso Robles. Danny also plays with the popular Central Coast band Human Nation which features world-inspired music, where he is replacing original band member, Dave Becker, who moved to Florida. The band has a diverse repertoire which includes samba, jazz, funk, and Americana, with some original tunes written by band leader, Adam Levine. The band, which just released their debut CD "Migration," consists of Danny and Dave Becker on saxes, Adam Levine on guitar, Brett Mitchell on piano, Bill Wingfield on bass, and Dean Giles on drums. Danny will be playing with the Temptations at the Cal Poly PAC on February 14, 2014.

This will be my last monthly column for the Slo Coast Journal.com. Thanks to all of my regular readers. I will continue to write about music, in addition to other cultural and travel issues, in my blog: www.StarrTreks.com.

This will be my last monthly column for the Slo Coast Journal. Thanks to all of my regular readers. I will continue to write about music, in addition to other cultural and travel issues in my blog, StarrTreks.