This is a great article from www.news.com.au about the new star of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band Jack Clemmons.
He was eight years old and while his fellow concert goers may have been enthralled by The Boss, it was saxophonist Clarence Clemons, his uncle, who had Jake’s full attention.
Music was the family’s business — Jake’s dad was a Marine Corps band leader — so it was no surprise that
he caught the bug the moment he heard the crowd erupt whenSpringsteen introduced one of the more popular
members of the E Street Band at that Tunnel of Love show.
Piano and then saxophone lessons followed that epiphany, with his uncle gifting him his first horn when he was 11.
Following his uncle’s footsteps to pursue music as a career wasn’t an easy decision. he knew he would always be thought of as Clarence’s nephew.
“Absolutely that was something I was concerned about for some time. My mentor was Clarence Clemons,” he says.
Jake has become a crowd favourite, scoring huge cheers for his solos and when introduced by The boss
“So I tried everything else.”
He was a waiter, a landscaper, a financial adviser but music kept calling him.
Clemons changed his name and pursued a solo career as Jake Christian for a few years.
After Clarence died of a stroke in 2011, Springsteen invited his nephew to fill his considerable shoes.
And just like his uncle, Jake has become a crowd favourite, scoring huge cheers for his solos and when introduced by The Boss.
“The way my presence in the band was accepted absolutely blew me away,” Clemons says.
“There are a lot of situations somebody can walk into with a lot of pressure.
“The band has been around my family for a long time so it is a blessing to be welcomed by the greater family, the fanbase.”
His popularity during the two Australian tours in the past 18 months made it an easy decision to bring his own band here to support the release of his debut EP, Embracing Light.
Read the full article here: http://www.news.com.au