WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Jazz and R&B vocalist Lisa Fischer and her ensemble, Grand Baton, will take center stage on the opening night of the inaugural Williamstown Jazz Festival.

The performance will take place on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance located on the Williams College campus.

According to a press release: 

Fischer, who was a breakout star in the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), is one of the most inventive contemporary jazz live performers working today. Her 1991 signature solo hit, "How Can I Ease the Pain," won the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1992.

Over her career, Fischer has collaborated with an extraordinary roster of music royalty, most notably touring for 26 years as the primary female backing vocalist for The Rolling Stones and sharing the stage with rock and pop icons like Tina Turner, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, and Nine Inch Nails. In the realm of R&B, she spent over two decades working closely with Luther Vandross and lent her powerhouse vocals to legendary artists like Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and Chaka Khan. Today, she continues to expand her genre-defying footprint by collaborating with premier jazz and funk artists like Chris Botti, Bobby McFerrin, and Ranky Tanky, while fronting her own progressive world-rock band, Grand Baton.