Bernie is the son of drummer Charlie (Cappy) Capodici who played with Joni James and The Four Aces, Charlie made sure his son would have a head start by teaching him to play drums at the tender age of four and would take him to clubs to sit in. Capodici started his career in the early sixties playing bongos for spoken word poets at the tail end of the beat generation in long forgotten café houses like the Bird Cage in Center City Philadelphia. Bernie then became a dancer on the syndicated TV show Discophonic Scene hosted by Jerry Blavat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNNk1Zx9VFY Capodici’s formal education started at the University Of Utah where he began studying percussion and delved into the exciting world of Latin Percussion. After school Bernie moved to the West Indies (Dominica) to commune with the natural feel of the rhythm of the islands, when Bernie returned to the states he began studying with the well-respected and noted bass player Joe Butara, Conga player Harry Hawkins and moved on to study theory & piano with David Anchor from Julliard for three years. Since then Bernie has had multiple jazz bands: Eulipian, Havana Fusion, Stiff Stuff, Vujaday and The Crossbreeders, The Lil’ Citi Band and now Drivetime, continuously playing clubs and concerts for the past forty years. Capodici has made special appearances with such notables as Chuck Reiney, Dexter Wansel, Jonathan Cain and most recently American Idol’s Justin Guarini. Capodici has recorded with such local luminaries as Daria, Rick Denzien and one of Smooth Jazz favorite sons Bob Baldwin. This includes three independently produced CD’s of his own: 2006 - Drivetime / Movies For Your Mind, 1978 - Stiff Stuff / Live at Havana, and 1976 - Eulipian / Live at the County Theater. Also includes one European release: 2001 - Gospel En Coeurs. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21212181 His technical expertise and experience has made him a much sought after wireless MIDI technical advisor for such artists as George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Gregg Karukas and Mo Play from Earth Wind & Fire. This CONGUERO has played from L.A. to Manhattan, Tour, France to the West Indies, and brings to the table an assortment of influences that put his unique, innovative touch on everything he does. |
||
