‘Quiet Storm’ Has Some Genuine Thunder

The “Quiet Storm” radio format might be better termed “Lingering Morning Haze” for its presentation of overly synthetic, emotion-bleached music. The “Quiet Storm” tour that brought singers Phyllis Hyman and Cherrelle and the fusion-based Pieces of a Dream band to Anaheim’s Celebrity Theatre on Thursday certainly had some of those qualities, but it also featured some genuine thunder.

Pieces of a Dream opened with its predictably bland fusion-funk. They then backed Cherrelle through a four-song set, highlighted by “Crazy (For Loving You)” and the hit “Everything I Miss at Home,” which displayed both a nimble, octave-swooping voice, and an absence of the emotional weathering necessary to make her notes felt.

Even when singing barefoot, as she did Thursday, the 6-foot-1 headliner Hyman is a statuesque presence on stage. Her voice is easily the match of her image, steering a smooth but never slick course between R&B; burner and jazz stylist. Though sometimes a bit too reserved, Hyman pulled out the stops on the hit “Living All Alone” (which included a whistling solo), “Meet Me on the Moon” and the Philly soul ballad “What Ever Happened to Our Love.”

The same bill, with the addition of Bill Withers, appears at the Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday.