On Saturday Nights, Chan's is "Capital of the World"

It's another Saturday night at , and on stage the great Duke Robillard is choking anguished squeals from the strings of a Les Paul guitar.

Customers are ignoring the chicken wings and the umbrella drinks they ordered before the music began filling up the room. How can anyone eat when he has them transfixed with that screaming, crying sound?

"I'm gonna buy me a dog," Robillard snarls, "to take the place of you..."

Such moments are regular happenings at Chan's, and that's why music lovers regard the place as one of southern New England's great cultural institutions. Most Chinese restaurants pull in customers with aroma, the sizzling smell of spare ribs and pot stickers. You'll find all that at Chan's, of course, but the crowds packing the place on weekend nights are there for jazz and blues.

John Chan added music to the menu back in 1977, shortly after he took over management of the family-owned restaurant at 267 Main Street. In the early years the staff would remove tables from the dining area to make room for the bands. When the bank next door closed in 1986, Chan connected that building to his own to create more space for performances. He dubbed the place The Four Seasons Jazz and Blues Club, but most fans call it the listening room," a tribute to his efforts to create a true concert hall with great acoustics.

The list of musicians who've played the club since that time includes many of the top names in both blues and jazz. Fusion drummer Steve Smith. Sax great Greg Abate. Bluesman Lucky Peterson, a virtuoso on almost any instrument.  Guitar Shorty, who learned a few licks from his brother-in-law, Jimi Hendrix. Mose Allison, nearing 80 but still tickling the ivories. The late Dizzy Gillespie celebrated his 70th birthday blowing his horn on Chan's stage. And jazz diva Rebecca Parris recorded an album there, as have a number of other performers.

During Robillard's last appearance, a Jamestown resident volunteered himself as a spokesman for fans. "John Chan has dedicated his life to the greatest art forms created by man," he said. "On Saturday night this place is the capital of the world."

That's only a slight exaggeration, because Chan's really is known to jazz and blues lovers around the world. Earlier this year the Blues Foundation, an organization of musicians, promoters, critics and academicians, recognized the club by presenting the manager with their Keeping the Blues Alive award.

John Chan and a troupe of Rhode Island pals traveled to Memphis for the awards ceremony. "It's an international award, a sort of Grammy for the blues," he said proudly. "Basically it means 'blues club of the year. ‘ Of course, we couldn't have done it without the support of the jazz and blues fans who've been coming here for so long, our long-time sound engineer, Bob Sloane, and all the great musicians who've graced our stage."

About the same time, USA TODAY listed Chan's as one of the country's best places to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  Another USA TODAY article on regional sandwich favorites suggested those seeking a new taste sensation stop by Chan's to sample an only-in-southeast-New-England specialty -- brown gravy chow mein served on a hamburger bun.

According to Chan, the double dose of carbohydrates makes the dish "a mill town specialty. It's hot, it's fast, it's inexpensive and it's filling -- everything a working man wants."

The sandwich might be an acquired taste, but everyone agrees Chan's deserves recognition as a music venue, especially those who’ve played at
the club.

"John Chan has been keeping the blues alive, let me tell you, for as long as I've been around," says Robillard, a Pawtucket resident who was raised in Burrillville. "We're lucky to have this place. A lot of places have closed in recent years, because of the economy."

"I've been playing here since '85," adds Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, a veteran of Muddy Waters band. "It's a great place. I'm so glad John Chan got it going and keeps it up."

The Mississippi native now resides in New Hampshire, which means he can make the trip to Woonsocket several times a year. He insists there's nothing remarkable about southern music finding a home in a New England mill town. "Blues riffs are part of every music," he says. "No matter what's in style, the blues will always be around."

In a recent interview on WICN, Bronx guitar virtuoso Poppa Chubby called Woonsocket one of his favorite tour stops. "There's no place like Chan's in New York City," he said.

Joe Krown, a master of the Hammond B-3, recently drove up from New Orleans with an all-star trio that included drummer Russell Batista and guitarist Walter "Wolfman" Washington. "When I first heard we'd be playing a Chinese restaurant, it sounded kind of weird, but this place really works," he said after his first night at the club. "If bands are going to keep bringing their music to other parts of the country, we really need more places like this. These days there are so few clubs with live music, we're driving hundreds of miles between tour stops, and with the price of gas, that's not easy."

The Main Street Chinese restaurant has been part of Woonsocket life since 1905, though with other names. The original owners were the Ark family. Chan's father, an electrical engineer, bought the business because he wanted to raise his family in a small town. Prior to that, the Chans had lived in Hong Kong -- where John was born -- and New York City.

"Tommy Ark and my dad met literally on a slow boat to China," Chan said. "They were both returning to the same village in Canton to find their brides, which was the custom back then. Through the years they kept in touch with Christmas cards and letters. Tommy Ark retired in 1964 and moved his family to Hawaii. When my family heard the news, my father decided a restaurant in a smaller community sounded like a good opportunity. We bought the business. Woonsocket really opened its arms to us. Today we have loyal customers whose families have been coming here for three generations."

John Chan worked at the family business through junior high and high school. He first took an interest in music while studying at Providence College in the early '70s. "My roommate was a deejay at the college radio station, and he'd bring the new releases back to the dorm," he recalls. "Then I started going to the jazz clubs in Boston, Paul's Mall and a few other places."

He credits the success of the music club in part to the renovations he's made to the former bank. "Musicians love playing here because it really is a listening room, not a dance club," he said. "That means you get an especially appreciative audience. And acoustically it's great -- I put sound proofing all the way up to the ceiling. There are no obstructions in the room, no columns blocking the view, because I put a steel beam across the ceiling."

The restaurant and club are an art gallery as well. Visitors are greeted by larger-than-life portraits of Pinetop Perkins, Billie Holiday, and other blues and jazz greats, including some who have performed in the very same rooms. The portraits were created by George Frane, also known as Commander Cody, a piano pounder who frequently plays the club.

Also exhibited on several walls are surrealist paintings by the late Robert Hamilton, an artist and faculty member at Rhode Island School of Design. By the way, his son Scott is the well-known tenor sax man (and another Chan's veteran.)

The entranceway is decorated with posters reminiscent of the psychedelic ad bills that promoted  San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium back in the heyday of hippies, peace, and love. They were created by RISD grad Patty Sargeant, who runs Dragonfly Bookbinders with her husband George. Chan asked her to produce 25 posters to mark the 25th anniversary of the music venue.

Keep looking, and you'll find a few works by the club owner as well. Chan is a talented artist himself, working with water colors and more recently oil paint.

There's more great music coming to Chan's this fall. Robillard returns on Oct. 21; the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, Oct. 22; Roomful of Blues, Oct. 24; Ronnie Earl, Nov. 4; James Montgomery, Nov. 25; and Commander Cody, Dec.  23.

That roster could include your name, too: the final Wednesday of each month is open-mike night at Chan's, and patrons are invited to play or sing with a house band.