505 - Murphy Aucamp: Playing with Blue Man Group, Splitting Time Between New York and Miami, Studying with Dafnis Prieto

Working Drummer

A native of South Florida, percussionist Murphy Aucamp studied classical percussion at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, while simultaneously studying rumba in the streets of south Florida. He is a graduate of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where he studied under Steve Rucker, Dafnis Prieto, and John Yarling.

Murphy’s performing credits include appearances with Blue Man Group, Gloria Estefan, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Quincy Jones, and Nu Deco Ensemble, He has toured internationally with trumpeter Brian Lynch’s “Spheres of Influence” band, and contributed arrangements and percussion on two Grammy-winning albums: “The Omni-American Book Club” – Brian Lynch Big Band, and “American Dreamers” – John Daversa Big Band. He currently resides in New York City, where he performs in the acclaimed off-Broadway show, Blue Man Group.

In this episode, Murphy talks about:

• Growing up in Miami and getting exposed to all kinds of music and instruments at an early age
• Studying drumset at University of Miami with Dafnis Prieto and Steve Rucker
• Playing with Blue Man Group, and the ways it allowed for individual personalities to shine
• A Latin and orchestral approach to drumset - layering parts and timbres rather than hammering backbeats
• How listening to piano and vocalizing helps him develop drumset vocabulary
• Translating Afro-Cuban percussion onto drumset

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