Claudio Berardi immigrated from Italy with his family when he was five years old.  They settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut--a hotbed of music activity in those days.  At ten years old, Claudio discovered the excitement of playing drums and began to study in earnest with some of the area’s finest percussionists. Later, at the University of Bridgeport CT, he was the featured drummer in the Music Department’s Big Band workshop. By his early teens, he was already playing professionally in several area combos and
big bands. Soon after high school, he began touring the USA and Caribbean with Gene Hull and various other musical organizations, gaining valuable experience backing up such celebrities as Vic Damone, Sandler and Young, Bob Hope, and many others.
 
As a member of the pop combo the Hi-Lites, Claudio performed on the Mike Douglas National TV Show with Kaye Ballard. In Las Vegas, he played main show rooms at the Sahara and Frontier hotels. He played the Playboy Club hotels and many of the Caribbean’s best resorts.
 
When Claudio gave up traveling and settled down with his own young family, he worked to develop a long career in the insurance business. But all the while he continued to play weekends in the Connecticut area. He became a regular in backing up local Broadway shows (even being on stage as an actor in a couple of comedies), played with the area’s top rock-pop band, and accepted random recording engagements. 
Claudio moved to Florida upon retirement in 2010 and is currently a full-time “retired” musician whose specialties are jazz, big band, R&B, pop, and shows.