He pioneered jazz rock fusion with his own band in the early seventies, played Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall with Vicki Sue Robinson, and hung out with Miles…but long before that, Danny was born into The Pickering Family whose entertainment roots reached back to the start of Vaudeville.   Danny had his first taste of performing at age 4, singing and playing drums on television in the Pickering Family show.  At 7 he began playing trumpet and by age 12 had his own jazz trio and was performing live original concerts on a weekly radio show in Elmira, NY, his hometown.  He studied classical trumpet and added flute, guitar and keyboards by the time he was in college.  Danny's original rock group became a favorite in the northeast and worked with The Animals, Mitch Ryder, and Arrowsmith and played the Steve Paul Scene in New York with legendary Blues Project guitarist, Danny Kalb sitting in.  His first production deal was with 5 Arts, owned by 3 young titans, Tommy Mottola, Neil Diamond and Al Kooper.

 

Danny Pickering is a Multi-Instrumentalist, Performing Artist, Composer and Producer.  Danny’s much anticipated CD "The NEW Files" (2015) features him on Flugelhorn, and Alto Flute.  He also plays guitar, keyboards and sings on the CD.  The album includes appearances by jazz stars, Marion Meadows, South American guitar phenom, Beledo, Chilian percussionist, Nacho Mena, Keyboardis extrodinaire George Pavlis, guitarist, Butch "Badstick" Taylor, keyboard/composer Jimmy McKinney, Danny's sons, Devin & Ryan Pickering, and vocals by his incredible wife, multi-platinum singer/songwriter Janice Dempsey, who co-produced the CD with Danny.  The NEW Files is a refreshing, extremely musical and original mix of jazz, funk, smooth jazz and culminates in a tribute to his musical guru, a 3 part suite titled “Thanks Miles”.  The first single “No Ordinary Love (Featuring Theory)" is a haunting new arrangement of the Sade classic with emerging hip hop artist, Theory contributing a sultry rap that gives the song a fresh new meaning.  To get a feel for the range of the CD, check out the arrangement of the two other covers, JImi Hendrix' "Purple Haze" or Sting's "Fragile".  The NEW Files is truely an aggressive musical journey with twists and turns that defy a single label other than "tasty".  Tracks and contributions to "The NEW Files" were recorded in Oakland, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Darwin Australia, Tokyo, Santiago Chile and Woodstock, and then completed and mixed at Danny's studio in the Hudson Valley, New York.

 

In 2013, 2 songs co-written and co-produced by Danny and Janice Dempsey, "What If" and "I'll Love You" were released as singles on the Andre Ward CD, "Caution" which reached #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Charts. Later that same year, the team produced several songs for Tony Award winner, Melba Moore and contributed one to Deodato.  Working with brilliant composer Brian Keane, Danny earned an Emmy for Composing (HBO’s Legendary Nights) and two Cable Ace Awards (“The Way West” and “Spirit of the Games” both HBO).  Danny has produced over 50 albums and produced over 75 JIngles for Radio and TV.

 

Over the course of a well influenced career Danny Pickering has worked with some of legends of contemporary music, including, Jimmy Cobb, The Brecker Brothers, Dave Sanborn, Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Melba Moore, Greg Howe, Marion Meadows, Brian Keane, Chris and Danny Brubeck, Roddy Morgenstein, Dave Weckl, Bernard Purdy, Alphonse Mouzon, Bernard Jackson, and The Average White Band.  

 

Finally, his break-out CD, "The NEW Files" has arrived.  Danny Pickering... no ordinary musician.