Pop Reviews : Chaka Khan Heats Up Greek Theatre

If the Greek Theatre had a roof, Chaka Khan would have blown it off Friday night. A seminal figure in soul-oriented pop, Khan has inspired countless women to imitate her fiery vocal style, but she remains in a league of her own.

Neither she nor Aretha Franklin has recorded major hits in years, but they’re still regarded in the loftiest of soul music terms.

Franklin is the undisputed queen of soul, yet Khan also has regal credentials of her own in a career that has spanned nearly 20 years.

No longer the sleek soul sprite in navel-baring leather bell-bottoms--the visual image associated with ‘70s-era Khan--she’s a grandmother today, a fact she mentioned between songs.

Supported vocally by her young, twentysomething daughter Milini, Khan didn’t give off a grandmotherly vibe, however, in her black sequined cat-suit.

In her post-Rufus years, irreverent Khan rarely performed hits she recorded with that pop/rock unit.

On Friday, however, she included several, including “Tell Me Something Good,” a scorcher Stevie Wonder wrote for her. On the tune, she relinquished the mike to fans so they could try their hand at out-wailing her. And a daunting assignment it was.

A renowned flat-out wailer who has patterned her vocal style after jazz horn players-- not other R&B; singers--Khan turned songs such as “Through the Fire” into almost other-worldly expressions of passion and longing.

Later, when Wonder joined her on stage for a wordless, scatting intro to “Ain’t Nobody,” it ended the evening on a particularly royal high.