On the last Friday in May, Damian Cremisio and his fabulous quintet provided a terrific evening of jazz to a full house of appreciative listeners at the Red Bank Woman’s Club. When Damian was growing up, his dad, who was a pilot, gave him two options, flying lessons or music lessons. He chose saxophone lessons and has never looked back. A career in music has included playing with such notables as Andy Williams, where he met his musical director and bass player, Gene Torres. The other members of the band this night were drummer Jim Mizell, who Damian has worked with for many years in Holiday Express, Dr. Scott Woska, whose studio they record in, on keyboards and vocals, and Neil Adams on guitar.
They opened the night with a medley of original tunes, “Believe/Turning Point,” that featured solos by both Gene on bass and Neil on guitar. Everyone recognized the next tune, Al Jarreau’s 1981 hit, “We’re in This Love Together,” with Damian providing a fine vocal performance. Pat Metheny’s “Song for Bilbao,” highlighted Damian on sax and Neil on guitar, both sounding in fine form. Damian then told us how when he met his future wife, they thought a good way to get acquainted was to each bring five of their favorite CD’s to see what their musical interests were. One artist Damian was not familiar with was John Gorka, and all these years later, his song “Let Them In,” included lyrics from a 1942 poem by Emma Dean called “Poem for a fallen Soldier,” that John Gorka hand wrote in response to a letter Damian sent him. It was a beautiful tribute to our fallen servicemen, as we just celebrated Memorial Day earlier in the week. Next, an exquisite interpretation of a song by Sting, “Fragile,” was delivered by the band, with Damian singing over a lilting guitar, and Neil adding a fine piano solo. Damian then spoke about the bond he had with his father, who passed much too early, which inspired him to write the song, “Saturday with You,” that ended the first set.
The second set opened with another medley, Duke Ellington’s “Sentimental Mood” coupled with “Trains” by Steps Ahead, a band which included one of Damian’s biggest influences, Michael Brecker. This jazz/rock fusion tune was given an excellent treatment by the band, and very much appreciated by the audience. The original, “Big Al,” written for a friend who passed, was done by his band Rush Hour, who were voted one of the ten best unsigned bands of 1995. Damian then joked that they are still unsigned! The song included a great synth solo by Scott. On another Duke Ellington tune, “Ain’t Got Nothing but the Blues,” Damian displayed some strong vocals which made this a standout track. He then talked about his inspiration for the original tune, “Perhaps Rabbit,” none other than Bugs Bunny. Listening to this instrumental, I could see the cartoon story in my mind’s eye. Another original, “Sammie’s Oasis,” was written out of the grief of the death of a good friend’s daughter of a rare childhood disease. It included some fine clarinet soloing by Damian. He then did what the band refers to as “calling an audible,” inserting another great Al Jarreau song in the mix, “Easy,” an upbeat number which included some fine clarinet, Scott’s lively keyboards, and a rhythm section that really kept it tight. They then launched into the Becker/Fagen composition, “Deacon Blues,” and for this Steely Dan fan, I thought they did a faithful version, while adding their own imprint. The closer, “On Top” was written by Damian in the mid-nineties, and inspired by Tower of Power, and a terrific horn based choice to bring a fine evening of music to a close.
It was a memorable night, and as a music lover, I can’t overstate how blessed we are to have so many fine musicians and bands of all styles of music here at the Jersey Shore.