Summer a Performer for All Seasons

Cree Summer frets for the universe, and for the happiness of your soul. She sings of “mass consciousness” and insists “love is all around” while praising the power of sexual healing. It’s the worldview of a cosmic hippie, but one grounded in the musical immediacy of deep, deep funk.

Dressed in leather jeans and with her hair a dramatic explosion of curls, Summer hopped excitedly behind the microphone Wednesday at the Troubadour and sang with a voice that was strong, engaging and filled with righteous attitude.

The sound of her six-piece band was heavy on percussion and a jazzy brand of ‘70s soul, without sounding overly derivative of that era. They performed a funked-up rendition of Frank Zappa’s “Dirty Love” and slowed things down during the soulful jam of her own “Sweet Pain.”

Summer’s charged, controlled wail was frequently more immediate, more passionate live than what can be heard on her debut album, “Street Faerie” (produced by Lenny Kravitz). She is a gifted, natural performer who genuinely seemed overjoyed to have a crowd at her fingertips.

When that crowd refused to leave at the conclusion of her hourlong set, she confessed: “I’ve never had an encore before, so we’re not prepared.” But the band’s subsequent performance of the wounded, mostly acoustic “Naheo” suggested that Summer was actually prepared in the most important of ways.