Entertainment

If you're trying to put singer Patti Austin into some kind of neat box, good luck. This is a woman whose long career has included stylistic stops in jazz, R&B, pop, dance, swing and adult contemporary.

She's not about to change anything.

"I just make music," Austin, 59, says by phone from Los Angeles. "I want to make music, period, and not categorize it, and that is what I shall continue to do until somebody says to stop doing it."

These days Austin might be best known for jazz and swing, thanks to acclaimed CDs such as 2002's For Ella and 2007's Grammy-winning Avant Gershwin. She has two more discs in the works, one a Duke Ellington tribute featuring Germany's WDR Big Band, the same ensemble that backed her on Avant Gershwin.

The other she calls a "piano vocal record." When asked for further details, she says: "It's not really jazz. It's really hard to describe."

Austin remains one of the most underrated singers of the last 30 years. Her versatile command of genres coupled with her sterling voice – a clear, sturdy, resonating instrument – has made her a sought-after talent. She spent years as an in-demand background vocalist before stepping out front. She found brief mass success, namely with 1982's gold-selling pop smash "Baby, Come to Me," and a handful of R&B hits. But she's mostly been criminally uncelebrated.

Avant Gershwin changed that, at least a little bit. She won a Grammy for it in the best jazz vocal album category. Austin, who had been nominated numerous times before without winning, still has mixed feelings about taking home the honor, even if she lobbied for it.

"It wasn't anything that was earth-shattering, because I am kind of anti-awards for the arts," she says. "It's goofy to say that somebody made better music than somebody else. Sadly in most cases, it's just a popularity contest. That's a long time ago, and we have moved on to other things. It was lovely the day that it happened. It was a bit of a surprise, but I made a conscious decision to go after it. I hired a publicist and got myself out there and did a lot of schmoozing. And it worked."

The Grammy hoopla behind her, Austin continues to tour extensively, both overseas and in the United States. Her performance Saturday night at the Irving Arts Center, which is presented by the Irving Symphony Orchestra, is what she calls a "trio gig," featuring a pianist, bassist and drummer. It will focus on the material from For Ella, which means it will be paying homage to the late, great Ella Fitzgerald.

Austin has trouble answering a query about the jazz and swing repertoires acting as a creative rebirth in her livelihood.

And once again we are reminded of how much variety is an integral part of her muse.

"The reason that it's hard for me to answer that question is that because when I work live, and I work live a lot, I am always doing different kinds of shows. So it's hard for me to think of myself locked in any position," she says. "One day I'll do a symphony gig, then a big-band gig, then a trio gig, and then a pop gig with six background singers and a get-down, get-funky band. It's hard to say that I am locked into doing jazz because I'm not. I'm doing everything." Plan your life

The Irving Symphony Orchestra presents Patti Austin at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving. Tickets are $35-$49. www.irvingsymphony.com. 972-831-8818 or 972-252-2787.