Quick Q and A with Jeanie Stahl
 by Kathy S-B  ·  1 April 2010

Jeanie Stahl is a fixture in Marblehead. The magical song “Marblehead Morning” has a fond place in most long-time Headers’ hearts. Comfortable in both the folk and jazz genres, Jeanie’s a joy to listen to and we’re thrilled to have back her back on our stage at the me&thee.

Do you recall the first time you met Mason Daring? Did you have any clue upon that meeting that you and he would become a musical pair?

I met Mason in the 70’s at a long defunct folk club near MIT and Central Square. He was performing and I was doing a guest set as an audition trying to get a gig there. I think we liked each other’s music right away but certainly had no idea we would form a music duo. I thought his song writing was great and he probably thought I had a pretty good voice.

Who were your influences as a young person growing up?

Musically, I had a wide range of influences, from classical to country, folk (British and American) and rock. I’ve always been into good melodies and lyrics no matter what the style. I played classical piano and sang in choirs until the middle of high school and then the mid-to-late sixties kicked in and I got off the classical track and went right to folk and rock n’ roll. For my own performing I guess Joni Mitchell was a big influence. I also listened to Merle Haggard and loved the Grateful Dead. Then there were the songs I grew up with when I was younger — The Shirelles — “Will You Still Love me Tomorrow” and Aretha. And later I listened to a lot of the jazz vocalists — Billy Holiday, Ella, big band singers from the 30’s and 40’s and Edith Piaf, Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.

After you and and Mason stopped working as a duo, you turned to jazz. How did that happen?

Mason and I had always included a few standards in our repertoire and I found those songs really suited my voice and they were fun to sing. I started listening to more and more of the female jazz vocalists. It also gave me a chance to sing with a band. I played at Ryles in Cambridge for a couple of years with Billy Novick on horn, Stuart Schulman on piano and violin and various bass players. Then a friend of mine brought Joan Wilson, the Executive Producer of Masterpiece Theater, to see me at Ryles. She really liked what I was doing and offered me a great opportunity — recording 8 songs at a WGBH stage set designed for our band. It was quite the event — 8 different gowns and hair dos and the band in black tie. The songs were aired at the end of each episode of a Masterpiece Theater series called “Love in a Cold Climate.” Mason was music producer and also produced the album that came out of it.

Do you have any favorite memories of performing?

There’s not one thing. Overall, I’d say it is the people I’ve met, whether those in the audience or the musicians that have become friends over the years. The recording part of “performing” I’ve always loved. It is so much fun making albums/CD’s in the studio and getting great musicians together. And when the musical groove is right, there is nothing better.

Is there a way to compare your jazz music performance with the folk music performances or is there absolutely no way to compare the two?

They are hard to compare. There’s less pressure in a way doing jazz standards with a band because all I have to do is sing and I don’t have to worry about the guitar. And the clothing is very different! Folk music is definitely more intimate and laid back. There is a closer connection to the audience.