Energy Surges as Angelou Joins Ashford & Simpson

When the writer of the acclaimed poem “Phenomenal Woman” met the woman who wrote the Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston hit “I’m Every Woman” on the Pantages Theatre stage on Sunday, Nick Ashford knew well enough to step to the side before getting caught in the cross-fire.

As Maya Angelou and Valerie Simpson, of the veteran R&B; team Ashford & Simpson, combined those two works in praise of women, there was a sense of sisterhood, a joining of spirits and energy. They blended the two pieces in a continuum, so that when Simpson’s singing subsided, Angelou’s deep, textured voice emerged. The room resonated with its power.

That was the highlight of the Angelou/Ashford & Simpson concert, but the whole show was filled with positive chemistry. Moments that seem forced or contrived on “Been Found,” the album collaboration between the poet and the singing-songwriting couple, made perfect sense on stage. Ashford & Simpson performed such songs as “Sweet Thing” and “What If,” and instead of detracting from the moment, Angelou’s delivery of her poems, recited with equal amounts of wisdom and sass, punctuated the songs and made them stronger.

But Ashford & Simpson, not to be upstaged, had a few moments of their own to shine. The duo went through a medley of some of its Motown songs that were recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, including “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.” Looking into each other’s eyes, Ashford & Simpson let the audience in on the secret that made those songs seem like more than a clever connection of words and notes: enduring love. It’s a rare commodity, and the duo was convincing enough to make even the most jaded become a true believer.