Musicians bring spontaneous tunes to Village coffeehouse.

Lisa and John Williams are spreading the jam.

The co-owners of Bagels and Beans, the island coffeehouse purchased by the couple last January, are hosting a musical jam that has been without a permanent home since Suquamish’s Coffee Cantina closed two years ago.

“We’d always wanted to have mic music,” Lisa Williams said. “Georgia (Browne of the park district) was the one who mentioned that (the jam) needed a home. We’re happy to have them.”

The response to the opening night – more than 50 in attendance – caught the two owners by surprise.

“It’s exciting, you know,” John Williams said. “When they first said they were looking for a home, we thought, ‘well, OK.’ We didn’t expect the response that we got.”

The ambience of the refurbished coffeehouse in the Village shopping center seemed just the right combination of casual and comfortable for the more than 50 who came to play or listen on a recent Friday evening.

Patrons congregated between the pastry counter and a serious Scrabble game. A chocolate Labrador retriever slept, curled up in an armchair.

The cadre of musicians, many of whom were among the regulars since the jam assembled in 1994, hugged and greeted each other like long-lost friends.

“It feels great to be here,” island musician and jam aficionado Larry Dewey said. “The whole family’s here.”

Even the jam’s original instigator, violinist/vocalist Tanya Opland, was on hand. It was she who approached the Coffee Cantina in Suquamish with the notion of a jam in 1994.

“The first time I walked in, I thought, ‘There should be music here,’” Opland said. “I had just started traveling over to England and Scotland and just getting over to Ireland a bit, so I’d been in a lot of local sessions, where people have a little local pub where they get together once a week and play music.

“And I thought that would be so much fun to have something like that here in Suquamish.”

The weekly jam was a cantina feature for nearly 10 years, as both owners and participants came and went.

“It was always so much fun,” Opland said. “It’s like a musicians’ party – musicians getting together to have fun.”

A jam, unlike an open mic, features a circle format, with musicians taking turns to begin a song, with other musicians chiming in.

Unlike more formal events, there’s no hard-and-fast distinction between the jammers and jammees; audience members often sing along, grab a pair of spoons to clack or bring a drum to pound.

Over time, observers inch their way into the circle; generous encouragement of fledgling performers is de rigeur.

“I hope it gives young musicians a chance to come out and just try out some of their things,” Opland said. “There’s no ‘performance pressure’ here. You do your one song as it comes around the circle to you. Either you get it right or you don’t. If you blow it, oh well, it was just one song.”

A young musician and first-time jammer who definitely “got it right” at the debut event, Kaitlin Rose played original songs that grabbed the attention of the room. Rose recently traveled from the Great Lakes with a friend to camp in Kitsap parks.

She heard about the jam from the Island Music Guild’s Norman Johnson when she played at an open mic at Pegasus Coffee House.

“He ran out to the car when we were about to go and said, ‘Don’t go! Who are you?’” Rose said. “And we just started a friendship from there on. He told me, ‘Hey, Bagels and Beans is the new place to have music.’”

As the evening wound down, the circle launched into “Goodnight Irene,” and instruments began to disappear into cases. One had the sense that the night might be ending, but a season of song was beginning.

“When we lost the Coffee Cantina it was a real blow,” Opland said. “We went from place to place for awhile, trying to keep it going because it was too much fun to let go of. But without a solid long-term home, people can’t get in the habit of coming to it.

“So what we’re hoping is that Bagels and Beans will turn into that home.”

* * * * *

Bring a guitar

Bagels and Beans coffeehouse features a Friday night musical jam 8-11 p.m. every week. The event is free and open to the public. Call 842-4050 for information.