Lisa Fischer to bring her powerhouse vocals to Maui
Trending
Lisa Fischer, who will perform with the band What Mongoose? Saturday at the Maui Music and Food Experience, was among the celebrated background vocalists featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary "20 Feet from Stardom."
A two-time Grammy winner, Fischer spent decades supporting the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Sting.
What Mongoose? brings together Fischer, with Stones' backing vocalist Bernard Fowler, Chicago's Nicholas Tremulis, Miles Davis band keyboardist Robert Irving III and Maui's Naiwi Teruya.
"I've sung with Bernard Fowler since 1989 with the Stones," Fischer explained. "I met Nick Tremulis through Bernard and Darryl Jones, who plays bass for the Stones. Nick gets a wonderful group of musicians together. For me, it's just a blast."
Any hints on songs she might sing?
"I don't want to ruin the surprise, but there will definitely be a Rolling Stones song in there somewhere. Maybe two," Fischer said.
A PopMatters review proclaimed her as "the high priestess of shamanistic rock and soul."
Her fans include Roberta Flack, who reported: "Lisa Fischer is a talent that comes once in a lifetime. Like Halley's Comet, her brilliance is dazzling and brings light into the world."
Touring with the Stones for more than 20 years up until the 2015 Zip Code Tour, she was featured on their albums "Steel Wheels," "Flashpoint," "Stripped," "No Security" and "Hyde Park Live." Keith Richards once commented: "Lisa's as powerful as the rest of the guys put together. She has an amazing power, energy and projection."
Her fond memories of singing with the British rock legends include a massive Brazil concert.
"There were a million people on the beach," she recalled. "I had never been in a crowd that large. They had been lining up the day before in the sun and spending the night so that they could get a good view. It was so beautiful. Once we got to the stage, there were all these boats. You could see the lights because it was nighttime by then. All the lights, and it was literally a sea of people as far as you could see. It was amazing."
A concert highlight in Stones' shows featured her singing "Gimme Shelter" with Mick Jagger. "It was amazing," she said. "Such an iconic song that still stands the test of time, and the melody is so haunting. Once I hear Keith doing the guitar riff, I just start to go into a zone. It's pretty awesome, just having that feeling of being lost in the music."
Singing as a child in church initially sparked her love for music. She got a major break in 1983, when she was hired by soul legend Luther Vandross as a backup singer, and subsequently worked with him until his death in 2005.
Releasing her debut solo album in 1991, she won a Grammy for best female R&B vocal performance for her single, "How Can I Ease the Pain," and tied with Patti LaBelle, whose award-winning project "Burnin'" also featured Fischer on background vocals.
Often called on to sing on various album projects, she recently sang Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" on jazz artist Javon Jackson's album "Jackson Plays Dylan" and Gil Scott-Heron's "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," on Brian Jackson's "Now More Than Ever." "It was a pretty deep song," she noted. "It's a dark song, but it's also funky and historic."
So what is it like for her when legends like Tina Turner or Sting, Santana or Chaka Khan invite her to sing with them?
"Little people start dancing in my belly," she said. "Then I try to gather myself and act like I'm calm. Inside, I'm having a party. It's always exciting. These people are amazing. They've made their own path. They followed their own heart, and they've given so much. Each song to me is kind of like a time capsule, and we get to jump in and out of the capsule and just live in it. It's like its own universe, its own gift."
Currently working on a new album with her band Grand Baton, Fischer has talked about the healing power of music, wanting to create an encyclopedia of tones and colors. "I would really love to do that," she said. "I feel there is a world out there waiting to be tapped in a medicinal way, and I just haven't found the right souls that are open enough to experiment with that with me. I am always in search of like-minded people who are willing to take the time to experiment with that."
What Mongoose? will perform Saturday at the third annual Maui Music & Food Experience at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. The show will begin at 5 p.m. The lineup includes Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo and Kanekoa. On Friday, the Experience will feature Taimane, John Cruz, 3 lbs of Kalo, and the Maui Taiko Drummers. More information is available at mauimusicandfoodexperience.org.