He Does It His Way

Gen Z singer Clay Abrams prefers performing big band numbers. 

Written by Nancy Sokoler Steiner | Photographed by Vincent Rios 

You could say music runs in Clay Abrams’ family. His father played drums, and his grandfather played bass and trumpet. His great-aunt and great-uncle performed as a jazz duo. And his wife is an opera singer.

Abrams started playing drums “as soon as I could sit upright,” he says. He belonged to several bands in his youth and enjoyed performing—particularly for residents in senior living facilities. During his final year of high school, he grew tired of lugging his drum set to venues and realized he could sing instead.

His musical style emerged the first time he heard Frank Sinatra. Not only did Abrams love the music, but he realized he had a similar voice as Ol’ Blue Eyes. He studied singing for two years at El Camino College, where he first sang with a big band—the El Camino College Studio Jazz Big Band.

Since 2021, Abrams has performed monthly for the residents of Sunrise Senior Living in Hermosa Beach and another location in Torrance. “It’s been amazing to connect with these wonderful residents,” he says. “After performing, I talk with them and learn their stories. Many actually saw Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and my other musical heroes perform live in their heyday. I’ve been able to give them an experience that takes them back to great memories from their youth. It’s been extremely rewarding and profoundly moving.”

Abrams’ most popular numbers include “Embraceable You” and “Pennies from Heaven,” not to mention Sinatra’s classic “My Way.” He shares his audiences “know all the words and love to sing along.”

In addition to Sinatra and Martin, Abrams counts Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr. among his favorite crooners. While he enjoys rock and hip-hop, he finds current music lacking. “It’s too commercial,” says Abrams, who prefers to hear the performer's “true instrument”—their natural voice—rather than synthesized or otherwise altered versions.

He also plays trombone and has performed in numerous locations abroad. He lived in South America for six months, where he learned to love tango and salsa dancing. In Italy, Abrams learned songs in Italian such as “O Sole Mio.”

Now he has traded his volunteer performances for older adults with a different type of service. Abrams enlisted in the Army and began basic training in July 2023. He hoped to join the Army band, but the spot was taken before he had a chance to audition. “They begged me to try again next year when there may be an opening,” he reports. Meanwhile, he is finishing advanced training as a petroleum supply specialist.

Asked to name his “theme song,” Abrams chose two: “‘Pick Yourself Up’ is a feel-good song that says when life gets you down, you’ve got to pick yourself up and keep going,” he says. And he says “That’s Life” encapsulates the wide variety of things he’s done in his 25 years.

Whether he’s in front of civilian or military audiences as a musician or an Army specialist, for Abrams “the best is yet to come.”