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On The Town - Charlie Descarfino

Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.

Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.

“The percussion setup for this show is rather straightforward as compared to other shows I have performed. It is sometimes done as a one player book with the percussionist playing both drum set and percussion, however there have also been orchestral concert versions of this show which utilize more of a combination of percussion section and drummer.

It seems to me that this current Broadway production is using orchestrations that the Bernstein estate has compiled which may be a bit of a hybrid of the original Broadway production - with additions that came along on the later cast album of that same production and later orchestral versions (we are fortunate to have a 28 piece orchestra).

A first here on Broadway for me, is the use of a 23" timpani (which the number Conga Cabana requires) because of a written high ‘A’ in the timpani part. The timpani are used in kind of a kitschy way in that number imitating perhaps the idea of an ethnic drum, so even though that is the only place in the show that requires it (because of the character of the music) the effect would be lost by doing something that we often do, which is to invert the intervals. As a result, sometimes it would have been preferable to have another lower drum, however, the room limitations in the theater wouldn't allow for it. Fortunately I was able to use a set of four timpani for the cast album!”

Charlie's Broadway Credits.

On The Town - Broadway - Charlie Descarfino
October 2014 thru September 2015

Charlie Descarfino's percussion setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.

"After a grueling four years at SUNY I still had one theory class left to finish. I was really depressed. A classmate of mine recommended me for a tour of a Broadway show. This completely changed the course of my life."
  • 7 min read
"When I first got the call to start working on Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, I was curious about which era the show was going to focus on. Their career began in the early 1960’s and they’re still releasing albums today."
"The unique part of Groundhog Day was that the drummer had to play on stage, in a groundhog costume, wearing a giant groundhog head. Since I could barely see out of the head, it was impossible to read a chart (and there wasn’t a music stand), so it had to be memorized."
  • 4 min read
Paul Hansen's setup for Bruce at Seattle Rep in Seattle, Washington.
Patrick Lehosky's percussion setup for In the Heights at the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale, New York.
Jay Mack's setup for the National Tour of If/Then at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Steve Gadd's drum solo from the track "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". From the album Live Stuff (out of print) from the legendary 1970's New York based band Stuff.
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

Gene Krupa's drum solo from "Gene's Blues" from the album Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich released November 1955.

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