Cathy Miller’s Person of the Week has some pretty darn good credentials!

By Cathy Miller

Who’s heard of “studio musicians” – that cream-of-the-crop crew who helped shape the hits of the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, even into the 90s? What follows is one local musician’s take on that era, how the music industry has changed, and how he made his way to the top of the heap for a lifelong career in the biz known as music.

Dave Tofani, a world-renowned saxophonist, resides in Washington with his wife and two cats. He relocated from New York City 25 years ago, full of fantastical tales from the studio and beyond.

Tofani was born and raised in Williamsport, PA, the home of Little League Baseball. He expressed an interest in music at eight years of age. His interest in baseball at that tender age was equally strong.

“My parents were very supportive of the music,” Tofani reminisced. “My father, the least musical person in our family, asked me, ‘How would you like to play the clarinet? You could play Italian songs with your sister (who played accordion and sang).’ I thought it was a fine idea. My father admired and trusted my Uncle Americo, my mother’s brother. Uncle Mert as we called him. He was an excellent musician and played both clarinet and saxophone.” Tofani wanted to learn saxophone but Uncle Mert insisted he’d be better served beginning with clarinet. He deferred to Uncle Mert and played clarinet for four years before switching to saxophone.

Why clarinet first? “I listened to his advice. Years later I understood what Uncle Mert said was so true. On the clarinet you have to cover the holes with your fingers, it has open holes. The saxophone has keys to press to close the hole. It requires a finer technique. The touch of your fingers is critical.” Tofani added, “Many of my colleagues agreed, they should have started on the clarinet.”

Tofani’s father asked Uncle Mert to teach his son. He replied, “I’d be happy to start David, but I’m not a professional. I studied with a lot of mediocre teachers when I was young.” He added, “If Dave has a chance to study with someone with a background in clarinet that would be the way to go.” The search was on!

The search ended with Doris Brown, who also lived in Williamsport. She attended the Eastman School of Music and had a conservatory background. A superb teacher, Tofani received excellent instruction on clarinet. He said, “I stuck with it and kept going. It made all the difference.”

Not surprisingly, Tofani’s interest in baseball interfered, to the point where he was rushing through practice to go off and play ball. He said, “I gave my 30 minutes and that was it!” When the music grew more difficult, Brown became a stricter taskmaster and insisted he practice more.

He dug in and sped up his learning to master the parts that Brown made him study. As a bonus, he became a good sight reader, which has served him well in his career as a musician.

In high school, he began to consider college. Tofani set his sights on The Julliard School, the world leader in performing arts education.

He recalled, “My dad and I had a big disagreement over Julliard. He didn’t want me to go to New York. It turned out he’d read about violence in the city and was frightened for me. It came out as anger.” He finally acquiesced, after reassurances from Uncle Mert and other musical friends that it would be OK.

Tofani moved to New York City at 17 years of age to attend The Julliard School, where he earned his master’s degree, majoring in saxophone and clarinet performance.

After Julliard, Tofani was drafted into the Army, and played in the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point for three years, where concurrently he began studying the flute.

After his discharge from the Army, Tofani returned to New York to resume his professional career. “When I first began to work in New York, it was on Broadway,” Tofani recalled. “I did four shows, and then I graduated into the recording business. Back then, in the 70s, Broadway was quite a bit looser than it is now. The conductors didn’t mind if you played a solo your own way. As long as it was good, they’d be happy. I initially got work on Broadway by substituting for other players. If a little jazz came up I played it my way and they were delighted. What I hear now is you must play it exactly the way it’s always been played. Get a cassette, practice it, and play it just like the previous guy. It paid the bills, but I’m glad I’m out of there.”

Tofani performed with the American Symphony for two years. “I always had this duality – classical training and jazz. I work in the classical idiom and the jazz idiom. I perform, arrange, compose and produce. It’s amazing that so much has come together for me.”

“Despite how much I’ve always enjoyed session work and performing with major artists, there comes a point in a musician’s life when you have to find your own solo voice and take everything you’ve learned and express your own sound,” explained Tofani. His debut CD, Grammy-nominated “Manhattan Carnival,” was that first step. With plenty of radio airplay when it came out in 1982, it reached number seven for eight weeks on the national Radio & Records jazz airplay charts. Tofani performed on tenor and soprano saxophones backed by NYC’s best rhythm section players.

Tofani recorded and produced his follow-up CD “An American Garden” in 2001, which was played on over 265 radio stations nationwide. He noted, “The album is a tribute to all of the immigrant families who gave of themselves unselfishly in order to educate their children so that they could have better lives. ‘New York At Night’ is dedicated to Uncle Mert because I felt if he’d had the opportunity to play this song, this would have been the way he’d play it.” It’s an eclectic album. He utilized a variety of forms, but all very melodic and very listenable. Tofani said, “It’s not one of those albums that has a sameness about every piece. What ties it together is that the seven original compositions are uniquely different, but they work together.”

“Nights at the Inn” was a nod to the Deer Head Inn, located in Delaware Water Gap, PA, the “home for jazz in the Poconos” and the oldest continuously running jazz club in the country. Tofani was inspired to make this CD following his many sold-out live performances at the Inn. He recalled, “I had a couple guys from New York and a bass player and pianist from this area. Between having a reputation and having some local guys play, we drew quite a crowd.” The CD was recorded at Tony Bennett’s Studio in Englewood and released in 2007. Tofani, who is known, as one review cited, “for beautiful tone, nuance and impassioned solos,” played tenor saxophone on all ten tracks.

In the 20 years from recording the first to the latest CD, did things change a lot in the studio? He answered, “In fact the technology changed a lot. In a way, the technology worked for me. There are some great things about it, as long as it’s used judiciously.”

Any concerts on the horizon? “I don’t do too many concerts. I passed on Soft Cell this past August. It was eight days in six cities. I wanted to do it.” But he didn’t – the thought of seven days was daunting. They wanted him to play flute, clarinet and saxophone, and that’s a lot to carry on a plane!

Tofani played the famous clarinet solo on Soft Cell’s “Say Hello Wave Goodbye” as well as clarinet on “Tainted Love.” How did he get involved with the 1980s British pop-synth band? “I worked with a producer named Jimmy B. Mike Thorn, Soft Cell’s producer, called Jimmy and said he needed a clarinet player who could totally improvise a solo on this record. Jimmy recommended me, so Thorn invited me to the session,” Tofani said.

“I walked in, just me and my clarinet. They had no sheet music, no lead sheet, nothing. They’d put the track down already. Thorn told me to go out and ‘blast away.’ I wanted to hear the song first. He played it once, then I went into the studio and they started recording. I felt my way through the track. As the electric piano grew in intensity, I went up into the high range. I was transcended. I just let it rip. It was very melodic, sort of like a ballad. I saw the guys in the control room jumping up and down, but couldn’t hear them. I wanted to do another take. Thorn said ‘I wouldn’t touch that.’ I only played it once, but Thorn insisted it was spontaneous and that’s precisely what they wanted.”

Tofani admitted, “At that moment I was not happy with it, but it’s worn well. Now when I hear it, I can see it was an emotional performance where it had melody and drama and excitement, and that’s what they were after.” Find it on YouTube: DaveTofani Say Hello Wave Goodbye.

The list of luminaries Tofani’s recorded with is staggering. “One of my favorite sessions was Frank Sinatra and ‘L.A. Is My Lady.’ Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park in 1981, their reunion concert, was quite an experience. A little over two hours, it was so well-produced and rehearsed. Working with Steely Dan was another great experience. Natalie Cole was fun, as well as the many sessions with the David Matthews Jazz Band. There were hundreds of other sessions too.”

Any interaction with Sinatra? “Very little, that’s his style. I’d worked with him before and some of the guys in the band had worked with him too. What a band it was! He hand-picked everyone. Quincy Jones, Sinatra’s producer on this recording, rehearsed the band to be ready for Sinatra. Usually, you go in the studio, get the sheet music, put it on the stand, count it off, and boom, there you go. But with Sinatra, we really rehearsed the music before each session from 10 to 1. Then we broke for lunch. Sinatra came in at 2. “

One of the things Jones was advised, “Don’t forget, Frank doesn’t like to do a lot of takes.” Two to 5 was booked every day for four days. Tofani noted, “Sinatra counted off the first song. It was phenomenal. The music, the arrangement, Frank Foster wrote a couple of the charts. It just took off. It swung so hard. All the horn players loved working with Sinatra because he phrased like a jazz saxophone player. Those four days of recording were the most fun I’ve ever had playing in the studio with a band. Every arrangement swung like crazy. Every guy was an ace player!”

Career choices – he’s had a few. “Do I go on the road with a major artist? Simon & Garfunkel went on the road after the Concert in the Park. Did I do the tour? No, I passed on it because I was very busy. Had I gone on tour, which turned out to be quite long, I would have lost a lot of recording sessions. That scenario played out multiple times, including with Steely Dan.”

Getting a national reputation by touring might have helped him sell more records as a soloist, but as Tofani explained, “Selling records can be an iffy proposition.” He preferred staying in New York where he was one of the most in-demand session musicians, admitting he never enjoyed going on the road.

Tofani discussed how digital technology has figuratively snatched musicians’ jobs from them, saying “work for studio musicians has plummeted. There was a time if you wanted to make great music you’d hire studio musicians who could read, write and improvise. You’d work with an arranger who put together music for the artist. Generally, you needed to be in NYC, LA or Nashville.”

He continued, “Today’s technology has split that wide open. You can be in a garage in the middle of nowhere, if you have somebody that knows how to run the equipment, along with a singer and a keyboardist, you can make a record.

“The sample technology has ‘replaced’ many instruments. An entire string orchestra comes in a box. There are young kids that can play the piano, write the song, download it to their computer, make the record and put it out. The guys from my era are more deeply trained to play, compose, arrange, produce.”

Tofani saw the handwriting on the wall in NY years ago. Session work was drying up. He used to do four, eight, ten sessions a week, it varied. “You can’t be paranoid and be a self-employed freelance musician,” he warned. “If you can get a Broadway show, you can have a steady job.”

“In 1996 digital technology was beginning to wreak havoc with studio musicians,” Tofani stated. “I noticed my invoices were decreasing, but the mortgage kept coming. I was able to get a Broadway show, since someone was leaving the position. I hadn’t played on Broadway for 20 years because I didn’t want to – being too busy to do that job and do my sessions. I played in ‘Crazy for You’ for two years, eight shows a week. Doing that show I realized if this is what I have to do to pay my bills, I didn’t want to be here.”

Tofani wasn’t crazy about Broadway work. “On Broadway, you’re so confined, so restricted. You must play everything the same. I’m a jazz musician, I like to improvise. Playing a show over and over, the repetition got to me more than anything else. And it was loud in the pit. If you were smart, you’d wear ear plugs.”

CD v streaming? Tofani didn’t mince words! “Most people don’t buy CDs. I prefer them because they sound better than streaming. Engineers have done a good job of giving you what you need for the sound to be pleasing, but frequencies aren’t filled out with streaming. If you listen to the music on a CD, then listen to it streaming, you’ll likely discover the CD sounds much better.”

What’s next? “One of the things on my to-do list is a string quartet with an alto saxophone solo. I also want my next group to be solely an acoustic group. My next album will have no electronics, no digital, no synthesizers, only acoustic instruments – a stand-up bass, a percussion player, acoustic piano, and I’ll play saxophone – purely acoustic sounds.”

For now there’s his memoir, which Tofani’s been working on for several years, with plans to publish in 2023. It centers on his life in music, the struggles and successes, and his personal life.

Tofani had a revelation while working on his memoir. “I realized I would never have had a music career if it weren’t for Uncle Mert. He died while I was a student at Julliard. I don’t know if he understood it was because of him that I was there. He had a musical conception of clarinet and saxophone. He had a way of putting the air into the instrument that I really picked up.”

From authoring a book to composing music, two differently lined sheets of paper share a common destiny – a birth, of sorts. “Composing new music is often on my mind. I don’t have a particular project that I’m working on  right now but I think about things that I want to compose.” In the middle of his studio sits a yellow legal pad on a music stand with a title page labeled “Ensemble Ideas.”

For aspiring musicians looking to stay in the music field, Tofani suggested they get into production – recording engineer, and associated fields, film production, music production, there are opportunities there. He said there are colleges that offer recording engineer programs, music production, that sort of thing. Some colleges offer film and television production programs, stage managing, and camera operations.

There’s still some opportunity for musicians out there, but it’s difficult. He advised up-and-comers to pragmatically consider the future. “Life exists beyond your music and your art. Essentially, you have to decide if you want to eat or pay the rent. Do you want to live at the poverty level or do you hope to someday buy a house?”

Candidly, he added, “I look at the career I’ve had and recognize I was a very lucky young man, and now I’m a very lucky old man.” Tofani mused, “Day in and day out, playing with great musicians was always part of my favorite experiences. Music is a social business. It’s about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with,” adding thoughtfully, “I’ve never worked at anything else. I have no regrets, I’ve made a good living, I’ve had a good run…although I would have loved to put out 40 albums!”

Visit davetofani.com for a fascinating compilation of his awards, recognitions, recordings, collaborations, movie soundtracks, and more.