They Call Him, Little Gabe
-A Blues Prodigy-

When you think of Blues you think of BB King, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Bobby Blue Bland, Howling Wolf, etc., but as many of them have died and others are moving up in years, coming in their steps is a young Blues prodigy from El Sobrante, California. Locally, he is taking the Blues scene by storm, and they call him "Little Gabe."

Little Gabe is 13-year old Gabriel Lambirth, who only picked up the guitar and started playing about three years ago and started performing live about a year ago. At the tender age of 13, Gabriel Lambirth is being requested to play and sing at Blues Festivals and clubs around the Bay Area and even out of state. And at this tender age he is playing and singing well beyond his years--at Saturday's Vallejo Blues Festival he sang, "They Call it Stormy Monday," a song way beyond his years. But he sang and played not for children but with the authority and conviction of an adult. Yet at Little Gabe's tender age his parents must accompany him to his concerts.

On a soft autumn day, in a park near the bay in Old Vallejo, I caught up with Little Gabe as he was performing last Saturday at the Vallejo Blues & Heritage Festival. Amidst vendor booths and an integrated audience, they cheered to a music genre that is so much a part of black people and the black experience in this nation. That music genre is the Blues! 

Little Gabe stands about 5'8", 110lbs; so he is not exactly little, but he is still a young boy with braces on his teeth, a voice that is still changing,  and clearly a young boy in his personal demeanor and appearance. Yet when on stage with his guitar, he shows great potential--he has no stage fright or nervousness that even some older and well-experienced musicians often have; his composure is uncommon for young talents his age. And part of his act is his developing Jimi Hendrix showmanship: as he plays his guitar behind his back and walks off stage, playing to the seated and standing audience.

Little Gabe performing one of his guitar numbers
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For an hour this young 13-year older carried on as lead guitarist and singer; with only himself, a base guitarist, and drummer, they held the crowd amazed and delighted. It was difficult to believe that a 13-year older could hold an audience for 30 minutes, let a lone an hour. But he did.

As a young black kid  in Louisiana, my father, a deacon in the Baptist Church, would not allow the Blues (the devil's music) to be played in our Christian home. So I only found it as an adult, but Little Gabe comes from an upper middle class home that has allowed him to test his talents and explore his creativity. His mother is a medical doctor and his father is an IT engineer. When the father, who usually accompanies Gabriel to the venues, cannot take him to an event, his mother accompanies him. This Saturday it was his mother. The parents seem to be very protective of him, shielding him from overexposure and from the elements of this adult music field before he is an adult. And they do well, because already the adult groupies have presented themselves to Little Gabe.

Little Gabe with his proud mother (Dr. Sharon Jones-Lambirth*) his drummer, and Little Gabe singing

When the Blues, a musical form birthed out of the painful black experiences in this nation, is seemingly being taken over by whites, hopefully, there are Little Gabes throughout this nation to pick it up and carry it on. After all, BB King is 80-years old this year, so we need more like Little Gabe to carry on this traditional and important form of black music. It is about black culture and history not being lost or supplanted by others, and it is about good music.

As Ronnie Stewart, promoter of this Vallejo Blues Festival said, look for Little Gabe in the coming years.

   [Hear selections of Little Gabe at this Vallejo Blues Festival: Gabe One      Gabe Two     Gabe Three]

Frank A. Jones**
Originally published 10/4/05

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*Listed as one of the best 122 doctors in the East Bay, by the Oakland Magazine.

**In full disclosure, Little Gabe is related to the writer of this article..

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