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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.

"Conducting a National Tour is incredibly challenging, but so rewarding. Stepping on to the podium with a new orchestra every few weeks really keeps you on your toes. Every player responds differently so you are constantly adjusting to get the desired result. I would compare it to playing a multi-percussion piece where the instruments are constantly moving."
"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."
"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 timpani tunings are the real challenge of The Little Mermaid. Changing pitches must be done by feel, that was my biggest challenge. Memorizing the mallet parts was also very necessary."
"As you can see in the pictures, I prefer to have as much 'stuff' right in front of me, as close as possible. Because there are so many instruments close in, I have mounted a music stand off of the tom mount.
"Different from the tour, the original Broadway production had acoustic drums, an acoustic set of timbales, and an acoustic tambourine - the tambourine is now programmed in the SPD-SX."
  • 2 min read

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

Steve Jordan's drum solo from the title track of the album Casa Loco.
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

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