Peabo Bryson reaches for the sky

MALIBU (News4usonline) – They don’t make romantic ballads the way they used to. Balladeers like the great Peabo Bryson come around once in a generation. So, when the opportunity arises to check out this incredible vocalist, you will leave the building more than satisfied. 

Bryson made an appearance at the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University on Oct. 22. Before the show began, rain drizzled up and down the Southland. Ironically, one of Bryson’s biggest hits is “Can You Stop the Rain,” which the longtime crooner belted out during his performance. What a performance it was!

Backed by a tight seven-member band, Bryson rained down his tenor voice thunder to the audience as he offered up some of his biggest hits during the night, including “I’m So Into You” and “and “Feel the Fire,” a couple of richly romantic songs that evokes both passion and a whole lot of loving. 

With 21 albums under his belt, including his latest venture “Stand For Love,” Bryson is the maestro of love songs. This is what he does. Bryson has been so good at delivering his silky smooth, seductive sound over the airways and to live audiences since his debut album “Peabo” in 1976. 

For his two-hour concert, Bryson dipped into his long and prolific catalog of unforgettable songs and made the audience more than appreciative that they came. However, it was Bryson’s tribute ode to Old School legends James Ingram and Bill Withers during the second half of the show that enhanced a great night of music into a lovefest yearn for love ballads. 

Bryson even snuck in a tune from Sade and got the crowd standing on their feet as they rocked to the beat of a Chaka Khan song. It was a full evening of song and entertainment as Bryson actively made it a point to engage the audience with short stories in between songs. In one instance, Bryson talked about how he and Ingram were faced one time with possibly getting into a confrontation with a couple of patrons. 

In another, he revealed to the audience a story about how Withers, known for hits “Lovely Day.” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Just the Two of Us,” went AWOL on a well-known rapper who was playing his music too loud in the neighborhood they lived in. The way that Bryson was able to convey those mini-stories, speaks to how well he is as a musical storyteller. 

He was humorous at times. Sometimes he spoke with the wisdom of a man who has spent decades in the music industry and simply that of being an elder gentleman. Aside from his amazing voice that millions have come to love and adore, there are two words that fit Bryson, and that is dignified and class. He showed as much during his presentation in song and storytelling.      

And yes, the man sounds every bit as good live now as he does on his longtime signature songs from yesterday. The one thing that great singers possess in their favor, even as they gracefully move into the latter stages of their life and their singing careers is ability to stand on stage and let their diaphragm do all the work. 

Bryson has one heck of a diaphragm because the power in which he is able to unleash on songs such as “If Ever I’m In Your Arms Again” and Al Wilson’s “Show and Tell,” is absolutely breathtaking to listen to. His range as a singer is simply stunning. If we had more singers in the world today like Bryson, there just might be a little bit more love being spread around.        

As far as the show, the magic flowed pretty well when Bryson collaborated with one of his backup singers to sing “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” the hit duet he recorded with revered songstress Roberta Flack. The two-time Grammy winner also wowed the audience with his rendition of “A Whole New World,” which he recorded with the wonderfully talented Regina Belle. 

All in all, it was a wonderful night “Reaching for the Sky” as you sat and listened to one of the greatest singers of all time.