Until she was introduced to a broader public through her appearance in “20 Feet From Stardom,” a documentary about underappreciated backup singers, Lisa Fischer labored behind some of the top acts in pop, rock and soul music. Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Nine Inch Nails and many more luminaries have benefited from her vocal contributions.
Newly independent, Fischer brought her solo act to the State Theatre on Saturday night for a concert co-presented by Portland Ovations.
Concert review
WHAT: Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton
WHERE: State Theatre, Portland
REVIEWED: Saturday, March 25
If ever a singer could be said to possess a powerful vocal instrument, it would be Fischer. Whether stretching and bending lyrics to suit her expressive purposes or moving off into wordless wails and cries, the passionate 58-year-old commanded each moment of the 90-minute performance. Though she seemed to barely need a microphone, so strong was her voice, she did take advantage of some electronic effects to add haunting echoes and reverberations in reaching every corner of the venerable hall.
Classic jazz, pop and rock tunes were central to the evening, but Fischer and her three-man band, Grand Baton, worked them through arrangements that provided refreshing new twists and turns. Some might divine a link to the work of Cassandra Wilson in this approach to stylistically deconstructing familiar songs. But with greater range, Fischer is more likely to go for the killer moment with whatever she sings.
Jazz fans got an early treat with a slow, swinging take on “Heart and Soul” that leaned on the upright bass work of Aidan Carroll and the hollow-body electric guitar musings of J.C. Maillard, who also excelled on a hybrid Turkish/Greek stringed instrument. Fischer proved her skills in the traditional form before descending into the audience as the tune morphed into a sizzling rendition of “Fever,” highlighted by some box drumming from Thierry Arpino.
Fischer returned to the stage, showing some of her bend-and-sway dance moves and engaging in a call-and-response moment between the upper and lower registers of her always probing and ever-embellishing voice. A take of “My Mama Done Told Me” hit a more traditional spot again before the singer moved on into a rocking musical realm.
“Addicted To Love” got a hard treatment after the familiar refrain emerged from the singer’s dramatic buildup. Maillard scored with an electric guitar solo worthy of the State’s reputation as a rock palace. Dancing a bit as he played and with dreadlocks flying, the guitarist drew acknowledging shouts from the crowd. Later, Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” also set pulses racing as Fischer summoned her inner Robert Plant before making the song her own.
The singer indirectly acknowledged both the pros and cons of her out-of-the-spotlight work over the years. “I never had the choice before,” she mused at one point, while deciding which song to do next. Though she offered a soulful take on her ’90s hit “How Can I Ease The Pain,” her choices on Saturday most often returned to classics by her most prestigious employer, the Rolling Stones.
“It’s Only Rock & Roll,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the inevitable “Gimme Shelter” were taken through pounding passages as well as sojourns into a more exotic, delta-gumbo mix of mystery and revelation. The latter tune seemed more than ever a sort of secular prayer as Fischer lyrically implored the she not “fade away.”
In the unlikely event that she ever does, it certainly won’t be for lack of giving it her all.
Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.
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