Beyond the Wrecking Ball Tour, Jake Clemons keeps the faith || by Tris McCall / The Star-Ledger No emerging musician wants to stand in the shadow of a famous relative. So it was with no disrespect to his uncle that, early in his career, Jake Clemons shed his last name and performed as Jake Christian. In an effort to establish myself, I used my mother’s maiden name, says Clemons, 33, saxophonist for the E Street Band. I didn’t want people saying, ‘Oh, that’s this person’s kid.’ I felt like I needed to earn my way. But the hilarious thing was that while I was Jake Christian, people who’d have no idea who I was would hear me play sax, and say, ‘You sound just like Clarence Clemons.’ And I’d laugh under my breath. In the past 18 months, thousands upon thousands of Bruce Springsteen fans have said the same thing. Jake Clemons’ saxophone solos on the recently concluded Wrecking Ball Tour have been delivered with remarkable fidelity to the source material. Jake’s determination to carry on tradition has been deeply appreciated by a Springsteen fan base still grieving over the loss of Clarence Clemons. The Boss has presented Jake not as a reincarnation of his former foil, but as the proud carrier of a brilliant torch. Although Clemons never planned on joining the E Street Band, Clarence Clemons spoke to him many times about the possibility of carrying on his legacy in the group. Clemons, protective of his uncle, would tell him not to talk like that. The elder Clemons’ death in June 2011, from complications caused by a stroke, made the transition all too real. I was devastated, says Clemons. Clarence and I spent a lot of time together. I was the best man at his last wedding. When Bruce said it was elemental — like losing the rain — without a doubt, it was for me. Bruce was very generous and kind, and followed up with me on a personal level, just out of care, to find out how I was doing. Months later, after the recording and release of the Wrecking Ball album, Springsteen tapped Jake Clemons to share saxophone duties with Ed Manion in the expanded E Street Band. In February 2012, Clemons stood on the stage of the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, alongside musicians he’d known since he was a boy, and played the first E Street concert without Clarence by the Boss’ side. Every time he put his lips to his mouthpiece and blasted out one of his uncle’s solos, the audience went wild. Getting on that stage and putting that horn to my mouth was so important to my healing. Every time I’d blow that horn, it made me more aware what Clarence meant to me. Walking into that environment with the greatest live band in the world wasn’t necessarily a celebration — because we were all hurting — but it was a very real moment of connection with Clarence and a conduit to him. The Jake Clemons Band Where: Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 N. Van Brunt St., Englewood When: Dec. 27 at 8 p.m., opening for Robert Randolph & the Family Band How much: $29 to $49; call (201) 816-8160 or visit bergenpac.org. Tris McCalls interview with Jake Clemons: ow.ly/qt0yN
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 23:25:58 +0000
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