The blues can get you down, and the blues can lift you up. It’s all in how you hear them.

Nothin’ But the Blues, the final Pops! concert of Portland Symphony Orchestra’s digital season, placed the blues in a broad context, while acknowledging the roots of the genre. As guest conductor Jayce Ogren noted in his introduction, the blues are “one of the greatest contributions of Black Americans to our world.”

The PSO relied on the talents of several guests, most notably the powerful vocalist Shayna Steele, for this recently recorded, 50-minute-plus streaming program that is likely to leave you feeling that you’ve shared, albeit remotely, in a heartfelt celebration. If ever there was a concert of popular music that you wanted to hear live, this is it. But, alas, the moment for large-scale, indoor concerts is not quite here. The excitement of good music, well played, though, still comes through loud and clear.

Conductor Ogren, who lives locally, led the socially distanced but fully engaged orchestra through a selection of stirring blues classics. The arrangements, by Jeff Tyzik, worked the blues-to-jazz spectrum reminiscent of the big-band era of the first half of the 20th century. The orchestral strings added harmonic washes and flourishes along the way.

Steele started out in a full-throated shout on Alberta Hunter and Lovie Austin’s “Down Hearted Blues.” It became clear that she would personally stylize each of the touching blues stories within the program. She employed the power and range of her big voice in teasing out subtleties of emotion within the classic laments.

The well-known traditional blues song “St. James Infirmary” was a particular highlight. As its funerial-march rhythm set in motion soulful piano playing by PSO regular Janet Reeves, Steele movingly sang the sad particulars of sorrow and loss laid out in the lyrics.

PSO trumpeter Joseph Foley added a thoughtful intro to W.C Handy’s “St. Louis Blues,” a song that again showcased Steele’s vocal and emotional range, adding touching nuance to her performance throughout.  It’s clear that she knows the meaning of the music.

Bessie Smith’s “Backwater Blues” had the orchestra approximating the chugging rhythm of a train, while Ma Rainey’s “Bad Luck Blues” had Steele, dressed in a long sequined gown, swaying and dancing slowly between verses all about “somethin’ gone wrong.”

Guest saxophonists Barry Saunders and Sean Potter offered affecting solos with hints of bebop expressiveness. Guest drummer Eric Metzger kept the beat solid and at one point duetted, all too briefly, with Steele on her own “Wear Me Down” (co-composed by David Cook).

Despite the absence of an in-person audience to feel the full power of this very engaging performance, by combining various musical elements into a spirited tribute to the everlasting blues, this Pops! program ranked among the PSO’s best.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

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