About Charles Cermele
One of the most critically-acclaimed singers of his generation, Charles Cermele (named Outstanding Male Vocalist by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) is well known to New York audiences from his sold-out performances at The FireBird Cafe, The Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, Town Hall, Caroline's Comedy Club and Eighty Eight's. Called "one of this country top cabaret stars" by Fox-TV in Chicago, two-time Bistro Award winner Charles has performed his solo act at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, The Cinegrill in Los Angeles, The Plush Room in San Francisco, Toulouse Cognac Bar in Chicago, Libby's Cabaret in Atlanta, The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island as well as clubs in Rochester, Philadelphia and Palm Springs. "The next big thing in cabaret" (LA Weekly), Cermele has been profiled on ABC World News Now and is featured in the PBS documentary "The Italian Passion For Life."
A native of New Jersey, Cermele (pronounced sir-MEL-ee) was born into a musical Italian-American family, from which he draws his sweetly humorous anecdotes of growing up. After graduation from Tufts University, Cermele began his performing career as an actor on various Boston stages. His move to Manhattan's Lower East Side introduced him to the burgeoning performance art scene of the eighties. It was a short jump to the more traditional niteries of Greenwich Village, and the discovery of a flair for standards.
Cermele was called back to the legitimate theater, playing for two years in the international tour of Jerry Zak's Broadway production of "Guys and Dolls." Upon his return, his long association with noted pianist Christopher Marlowe culminated in the recording of his debut CD, "Look in My Eyes." That album won the 1996 Bistro Award for Outstanding Record of the Year and was chosen as a "Critic's Choice" by Billboard. Cermele's latest album, Ask Me Again, a collection of classic love songs by the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and others was awarded 31/2 stars by both the Boston Herald and Jane Magazine who wrote, "Better to make out to than Limp Bizkit, I can tell you."
