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Jazz is a universal language, and San Jose Jazz’s Summer Fest brings an international cast of vocalists to the Plaza de César Chávez and its environs Aug. 9-11.
From Beninese superstar Angelique Kidjo and Veracruz’s rising son jarocho-meets-jazz interpreter Lucía Gutiérrez Rebolloso to Italian scat maestra Roberta Gambarini and Broadwayphile Jane Monheit, Summer Fest vividly showcases jazz’s global reach. (Here are 10 shows not to miss.)
In the case of Lisa Fischer, however, one planet may not suffice to contain her creative fecundity. The Grammy Award-winning force of nature has been touching down regularly in the Bay Area over the past decade, since she embraced her own luminous gravity and shed her 20-feet-from-stardom spot as a supporting vocalist for iconic rock and pop acts.
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Whether touring with the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Luther Vandross, Sting or Tina Turner, “my role as a background singer was to change and adapt to the landscape, and that is exciting,” she said in a video call. “It’s like a blank canvas, being clear enough so someone can put their paint on you, different colors and movements.”
These days, Fischer is the one wielding the brush, turning out one incandescent tableaux after another. Whether she’s improvising in an intimate duo with Menlo Park-reared pianist Taylor Eigsti, raising the roof with the spiritually charged Gullah-funk combo Ranky Tanky, or creating luminous soundscapes for Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, Fischer has taken her rightful place among the world’s greatest working vocalists.
She’s at her most unfettered with Caribbean world-rockers Grand Baton, the combo she brings to Summer Fest’s main stage Sunday afternoon (and Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage Aug. 9-10). Led by string wizard and arranger JC Maillard, who grew up on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Grand Baton features French drummer Thierry Arpino and Pittsburgh-raised jazz/funk bassist Richie Goods (who performs at Yoshi’s Sept. 27 with Connected, a band he co-leads with vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu).
It’s a supremely malleable combo capable of following (and leading) Fischer in just about any musical direction. Grand Baton was the group with which she reintroduced herself as a lead vocalist, and together they’ve crafted a far-ranging repertoire of songs, including many she made her own during her backup years.
“Grand Baton gave me my wings,” Fischer said. “They give me permission to do whatever I want. With all of JC’s arrangements it feels like a whole new planet. Getting older, I feel I’m getting to know myself better, getting more comfortable with my imperfections.”
Fischer spent much of her career exulting in her role as the ultimate team player. Even after the Brooklyn native scored a chart-topping R&B hit, “How Can I Ease the Pain,” and a 1992 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, she decided to focus on her already thriving career supporting the world’s biggest acts.
But in the wake of the Academy Award-winning 2013 documentary “20 Feet From Stardom,” Fischer experienced a course-changing epiphany. After decades of always looking for the next tour, “the film gave me a chance to take stock and realize I could start defining my own path,” she said.
Marin hitmaker Narada Michael Walden produced “How Can I Ease the Pain,” and it was another Bay Area luminary, choreographer Alonzo King, who got her to start composing again. He was immediately struck by her open and unaffected demeanor.
“The way that Lisa treats people is like a saint, always loving and patient and kind,” King said. “And she has one of the most revered virtues that all the mystics possess, sincere humility. She’s a singular and rare vibration, and to be around her is to bask in that beautiful energy.”
Spending time with the company, Fischer was fascinated by the way the dancers interpreted King’s ideas. She’s created music for three King ballets, most recently “Let Your Heart Not Be Troubled.” Performing on stage with the company, she’s become an essential part of the LINES universe.
“I’m trying to bring them something to play in and around, with a lot of freedom and fun,” she said. “I experimented with sound and didn’t have to worry about a rigid lyric. It’s more about an emotion. Melodies come really easy. Words I have to craft.”
Whatever the context, Fischer retains creative molecules from every artist she’s encountered, transmuted via the alchemy of a musician blessed with an instrument unbound by genre and stylistic convention. Her voice contains infinite textures, shades and hues, but it’s her bountiful soul and that takes listeners to places no other vocalists go.
Contact Andrew Gilbert at jazzscribe@aol.com.
SAN JOSE JAZZ SUMMER FEST
When & where: Aug. 9-11, various San Jose venues
Tickets: 3-day passes, $115.60-$636 ($33.60 kids 5-12); single-day passes $38.80-$95 ($13.21 kids 5-12); summerfest.sanjosejazz.org
Lisa Fischer at Freight & Salvage: 8 p.m. Aug. 9-10; $59-$79; www.thefreight.org
Originally published at Andrew Gilbert