Chris Stovall Brown and Madeleine Hall rocked the Bah-Jam at the Black Sheep Tavern yesterday afternoon. The husband and wife team were the jam’s featured artists and their personal chemistry, huge talents, and stage presences made quite an impression. The Black Sheep Tavern in located in Sterling, Massachusetts.
I arrived at the Bah-Jam to hear the familiar burst of Spud Kelly’s harmonica melody and Scott LeBlanc’s squealing guitar leads. Kelly and LeBlanc’s band A Ton Of Blues is the weekly house band for the jam, and they always get the joint jumping just before the features go on at four o’clock.
The vibe was earthy and palpable when Brown and Hall took to the band area. Brown, a respected 40 year guitar veteran, plowed right into a bluesy chord progression while Hall applied her svelte drawl at the microphone. Stovall eventually ripped into a phrase like nobody’s business, shards of notes flying this way and that as he drove his main phrase forward.
Next, the pair performed “I’d Rather Go Blind” as a tribute to Etta James. A ballady pace allowed Hall’s voice to breathe like a fine wine, paving a smooth path of vocal melody notes. Hall has that way of putting a crisp, clear timbre inside her vocal melody that makes the song classy and beautiful and respectable. It was amazing to hear so much strength and emotion come out of a dainty, petite woman. Soon enough, Stovall took the reigns with a mighty lead guitar line that ran like a river of notes. He just stretched that phrase right out and took it wherever the heck he felt like taking it.
It was good to hear Hall become more assertive on “Pride And Joy.” She unfurled the lilting vocal melody while Brown cranked out the crunchy chords and nailed the feisty, pushy, over the top melodic phrase. Some guitarists drive a phrase forward like a sports car. Brown drives it like a getaway car. He always injects urgency and improvisation into his electric guitar work.
LeBlanc joined the pair as a second guitarist on a rendition of “Me And Bobby Magee,” the Janis Joplin recorded, Kris Kristofferson penned tune that has become a bar band favorite over the years. Hall had that real down and dirty earthy drawl, sounding rich and authentic. You should’ve heard her rippling vocal excursion as she sang her way through the grand finale. It was definitely one of the more lively bar band presentations of this classic number.
Brown and Hall had to beat it out of there to make it to a later gig on time. They were certainly an amazing pair in their set, and I’m certain that everyone in attendance would love to see them back. Next up was the inimitable Fran Dagostino on lead guitar playing an instrumental version of “Ain’t No Sunshine.” His guitar lines were scintillating in certain moments while his supporting bass player, Matt Sambito, kept a fulsome rumble of low end joy flowing beneath it all.
Dagostino made his guitar talk to you with its scaling, climbing notes leaving their mark on the soul. Vocally, his gravel rich timbre made his blues believable. The Bah-Jam featured Arthur James on the drum set smacking those skins with the same passion and precision he usually brings to his lead guitar solos. James might have a little more classic rock influence in his drumming, based on his rigid adherence to meter and thunder of the gods smacking style.
Blind Jelly Stu, a local blues celebrity, played his harmonica in a way that made it feel amicable and sweet. There was definitely an earthy vibe in his vintage style blues. Guitarist Bill Cooper was on hand to play his mellow guitar leads and bass player Andy “Mems” got down with it. Drummer Dave Bergeron kept up the mellow swirl of rhythm and a keyboard player identified as Richard bumped things up a notch with his assertively tasteful organ chords.
Some other notable players were New England’s best dressed drummer Al Clark from A Ton Of Blues, Matt Sambito formerly of Roxanne And The Voodoo Rockers, drummer Dave Bergeron, guitarist Jimmy Stevens, and a keyboard player named Richard, another keyboard player named Jay and few other people I couldn’t get names of and couldn’t locate to ask before I had to leave Sterling for my home in New Hampshire.
Later on, Arthur James came back to the stage area, this second time to play guitar. His brittle bluesy, guitar leads made a nice contrast with LeBlanc’s sweet, crying six string effect. All the combinations of players each week are well considered, well matched, and balanced. This is what accounts for the musical success of the weekly Bah-Jam. The solid attendance of sincere blues fans is what creates the winsome vibe of the room. From there, musicians and fans inspire each other by throwing the energy back and forth for a few cool hours of serious blues music.
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