Charlie Rosen (musician)

(Redirected from 8-Bit Big Band)

Charlie Rosen (born July 20, 1990[1][2]) is an American musician, composer, arranger, orchestrator, musical director, and music producer. He is best known for his work on Broadway, where he has worked on Be More Chill, Prince of Broadway, American Psycho, and, along with Bryan Carter, won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Some Like It Hot. He is also the leader of the 8-Bit Big Band, a jazz orchestra specializing in video game music.[3][4][5]

Charlie Rosen
Rosen at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023
Born (1990-07-20) July 20, 1990 (age 34)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationBerklee College of Music
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
  • arranger
  • orchestrator
  • music director
  • music producer
Years active2005–present
Websitewww.charlierosen.com

Early life

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Rosen was born in Los Angeles, California, as the son of a bassoonist and organist. He was taught piano by his mother, starting from the age of three. At the age of fifteen, he joined the onstage band for the Los Angeles production of 13. He moved to New York at the age of seventeen to make his Broadway debut in 13, where he was a swing.[6][7] He later attended Berklee College of Music for four semesters.[1]

Career

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Rosen began his professional career as a swing musician for the bass, guitar, and percussion tracks of 13.[1] Starting in 2012,[8] he was the bandleader of Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band, where he arranged classic musical theater numbers into music that could be performed by a jazz orchestra with Broadway performers as the vocalists.[7] As of April 2019, he primarily features as a guitarist in the Broadway musical Be More Chill.[1]

Rosen can play about 70 musical instruments including the "flugelbone", melodica, Fender Rhodes, and theremin.[1] Of these he has described the flugelbone as his "orchestrating secret weapon" due to its ability to utilize variety of timbres. However, he considers himself primarily a bassist but uses the range of instruments in his repertoire to improve the quality of the music he is able to create.[1]

Rosen is also the composer on 2021 comedy film Here Today.[9]

The 8-Bit Big Band

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In 2017 Rosen founded the 8-Bit Big Band as a jazz and pops orchestra,[10] featuring from 26[11] to 65 musicians who cover video game songs from franchises such as Super Mario Brothers, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Pokémon.[12][13] The band has a presence on YouTube with over 286,000 subscribers and 42,000,000 total views as of October 2023.[5] In May 2018, the 8-Bit Big Band released its first album, Press Start!. In June 2019, the band released its second album, Choose Your Character, which covers music from Donkey Kong Country, Duck Tales, Sonic The Hedgehog, Pokémon, Portal, and more.[14] In November 2021, the band's cover of "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Super Star won a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.[15][16]

Credits

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Theater

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Year(s) Production Role Location Category Ref.
2008 13 Swing bass, guitar, percussion Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Broadway [6]
2010 Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Associate conductor
Bass
[17]
2011 The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful (And Her Dog!) Orchestrator
Track production
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Regional [18]
2012 One Man, Two Guvnors Lead guitar/drums/lead singer (understudy)
Music director
Bass
Music Box Theatre Broadway [19]
2012 Cyrano de Bergerac Music American Airlines Theatre [20]
2013 The Black Suits Music director
Orchestrator
Center Theatre Group Regional [21][22]
2014 Soon Arranger
Orchestrator
Signature Theatre [23]
2015 Honeymoon in Vegas Orchestrations Nederlander Theatre Broadway [24]
2015 Be More Chill Orchestrator Two River Theater Regional [25]
2015 The Visit Guitar/Zither/Mandolin Lyceum Theatre Broadway [26]
2015 A Little More Alive Orchestrator Barrington Stage Company Regional [27]
2016 American Psycho Associate music director
Keyboard/Guitar 2
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Broadway [26]
2016 Broadway Bounty Hunter Music supervisor
Orchestrator
Barrington Stage Company Regional [28]
2017 A Legendary Romance Music director
Orchestrator
Williamstown Theatre Festival [29]
2017 A Midsummer Night's Dream Orchestrator The Public Theater Off-Broadway [30][31]
2017 Prince of Broadway Associate orchestrator Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Broadway [32]
2018 Be More Chill Orchestrator
Music supervisor
Guitar 2/Ukulele
Pershing Square Signature Center Off-Broadway [25]
2018 Miss You Like Hell Orchestrator The Public Theater Off-Broadway [33]
2018 Pamela's First Musical Orchestrator Two River Theater Regional [34]
2019 Be More Chill Orchestrator
Music supervisor
Guitar 2/Ukulele
Lyceum Theatre Broadway [25]
2019 Broadway Bounty Hunter Music supervisor
Orchestrator
Greenwich House Theater Off-Broadway [35]
2019 Moulin Rouge! Co-orchestrations (horn) Al Hirschfeld Theatre Broadway [36]
2019 Love in Hate Nation Music Supervisor
Orchestrator
Two River Theater Regional [37]
2019 A Strange Loop Orchestrations Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway [38]
2019 A Strange Loop Orchestrations Lyceum Theatre Broadway [39]
2022 Some Like It Hot Co-orchestrations Shubert Theatre Broadway [40]
2023 Guys and Dolls Orchestrations Bridge Theatre London
Year(s) Title Role Ref.
2016 Maya & Marty Musical director [41]
2017–2018 The President Show Composer
Music producer
[42]
2018 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Track production
Guitar recording
[43]

Film

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Year(s) Title Role Ref.
2021 Here Today Composer [9]
2021 Listening to Kenny G Composer
2023 Wonka Music Producer

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2015 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations Honeymoon in Vegas Nominated [44]
2018 Miss You Like Hell Nominated [45]
2019 Be More Chill Nominated [46]
2020 Obie Award Special Citation A Strange Loop Won [47]
Tony Award Best Orchestrations Moulin Rouge! Won [48][49]
2022 Grammy Award Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella "Meta Knight's Revenge (From Kirby Super Star)" Won [15][50]
Tony Award Best Orchestrations A Strange Loop Nominated [51]
2023 Tony Award Best Orchestrations Some Like It Hot Won [52]
2024 Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album Won
Laurence Olivier Award Outstanding Musical Contribution Guys and Dolls (with Tom Brady for Musical Supervision & Arrangements) Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Harris, Elizabeth A. (April 14, 2019). "The Modern Music Man: He Plays 70 Instruments and Video Games, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  2. ^ "Charlie Rosen on Instagram: "🎂 Obligatory birthday post 😎 looking forward to my 29th trip around the sun with y'all thanks for being there ❤️"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "Meet Charlie Rosen of The 8-Bit Big Band". Voyage ATL. August 14, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  4. ^ Flanagan, Ryan (April 22, 2019). "Broadway composer specializes in 'unusual and exotic' instruments". CTVNews. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "The 8-Bit Big Band". YouTube. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Simonson, Robert (September 24, 2008). "Making the Band, the Broadway Version, in the Musical '13'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Gordon, David (January 26, 2014). "Charlie Rosen Brings the Big Band Back to Broadway". TheaterMania. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  8. ^ Gioia, Michael (November 12, 2012). "Nick Blaemire, Caissie Levy, Santino Fontana and More Set for Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band NYC Debut Concert". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Charlie Rosen Scoring Billy Crystal's 'Here Today' | Film Music Reporter". Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "NEW RELEASE: Tony Nominee Charlie Rosen's The 8-Bit Big Band's BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE due out January 8, 2021". LYDIALIEBMAN.COM. November 11, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "[AMA] Hi Charlie Rosen here - NYC Bass player, arranger, composer for Broadway / TV / Performing artists and more, Hope I can provide some insight into life as a professional musician in 2019!". Reddit. May 9, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  12. ^ "The 8-bit Big Band". Sony Hall. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  13. ^ "The 8-Bit Big Band". The 8-Bit Big Band. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  14. ^ "Charlie Rosen's The 8-Bit Big Band Returns to New York City 1/27/20". LYDIALIEBMAN.COM. November 11, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Colbert, Isaiah (November 24, 2021). "Poyo? Kirby Has Been Nominated For A Grammy". Kotaku. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  16. ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominations List".
  17. ^ Brantley, Ben (October 13, 2010). "Ideal President: A Rock Star Just Like Me". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  18. ^ Wren, Celia (October 17, 2011). "'Dr. Wonderful' kids' musical at Kennedy Center is jauntily educational". Washington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  19. ^ Rooney, David (April 18, 2012). "'One Man, Two Guvnors': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  20. ^ Rooney, David (October 11, 2012). "Cyrano de Bergerac: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  21. ^ Birchall, Paul (November 6, 2013). "Los Angeles Theater Review: THE BLACK SUITS (Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City)". Stage and Cinema. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  22. ^ Meisel, Myron (November 7, 2013). "The Black Suits: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  23. ^ Clements, Jennifer (March 25, 2015). "Blaemire turns end of the world into quirky new musical Soon". DC Theatre Scene. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  24. ^ "Will Roland, Bobby Conte Thornton and More Join Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band at Feinstein's/54 Below". BroadwayWorld.com. BWW News Desk. March 26, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  25. ^ a b c "GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS will release "BE MORE CHILL" Original Broadway Cast Recording". Artvoice. March 17, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Gerard, Jeremy (February 22, 2016). "Offbeat Impresario Randy Weiner, Oscar Winning Writer Alex Dinelaris Lead TEDxBroadway Confab". Deadline. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  27. ^ Fertik, David (June 24, 2015). "Barrington Stage Company presents East Coast Premiere of Nick Blaemire's A LITTLE MORE ALIVE". Barrington Stage Company (Press release). Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  28. ^ Verini, Bob (August 22, 2016). "Regional Theater Review: 'Broadway Bounty Hunter'". Variety. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  29. ^ Dalton, Joseph (July 27, 2017). "'Legendary Romance' at Williamstown Theater Festival". Times Union. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  30. ^ Clement, Olivia (July 31, 2017). "A Midsummer Night's Dream Opens in Central Park". Playbill. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  31. ^ Hetrick, Adam (July 31, 2017). "How Did Critics Review A Midsummer Night's Dream Starring Phylicia Rashad, Annaleigh Ashford, and Danny Burstein?". Playbill. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  32. ^ Frankel, Tony (May 22, 2018). "CD Review: THE PRINCE OF BROADWAY (Original Broadway Cast Recording)". Stage and Cinema. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  33. ^ Rizzo, Frank (April 11, 2018). "Off Broadway Review: 'Miss You Like Hell'". Variety. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  34. ^ Van Benthuysen, Gretchen C. (September 25, 2018). "Theater Review: 'Pamela's First Musical". The Two River Times. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  35. ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (July 31, 2019). "Broadway Bounty Hunter to End Off-Broadway Run Ahead of Schedule". Broadway.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  36. ^ Rooney, David (July 25, 2019). "'Moulin Rouge! The Musical': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  37. ^ "Two River Theater Presents the World Premiere of "Love In Hate Nation" by Joe Iconis". New Jersey Stage. Red Bank, NJ: Wine Time Media. October 18, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  38. ^ "A Strange Loop Designers". Playwrights Horizons. 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  39. ^ TV, BroadwayWorld. "Meet the 2022 Tony Nominees: A STRANGE LOOP's Charlie Rosen". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  40. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (April 20, 2022). "'Some Like It Hot' Musical Sets Broadway Cast, Opening Night Date". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  41. ^ "Charlie Rosen". IMDb. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  42. ^ "Charlie Rosen". Playbill. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  43. ^ "Resumé". Charlie Rosen. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  44. ^ Cox, Gordon (April 23, 2015). "Drama Desk Nominations: 'Hamilton' Leads the Polls (FULL LIST)". Variety. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  45. ^ Cox, Gordon (April 26, 2018). "'Carousel,' 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Lead 2018 Drama Desk Nominations (Full List)". Variety. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  46. ^ McPhee, Ryan (April 25, 2019). "Nominations for the 2019 Drama Desk Awards Announced; Oklahoma!, Tootsie, Rags Parkland Lead the Pack". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  47. ^ "2020". Obie Awards. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  48. ^ McPhee, Ryan (October 15, 2020). "2020 Tony Award Nominations: Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge!, Slave Play Lead the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  49. ^ "Winners". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  50. ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominations List".
  51. ^ "Tony Awards 2022". Tony Awards. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  52. ^ Sherman, Rachel (June 11, 2023). "Tony Award Winners 2023". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2023.