Folk and jazz challenge singer Claudia Schmidt

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 24, 2005

Claudia Schmidt has a perfectly functioning music personality disorder. She lives in two musical worlds: folk and jazz.

Schmidt brings her solo folk singer act with 12-string guitar and dulcimer to Seattle on Saturday and to Marysville on Thursday.

She put the torch song “Since I Fell For You” on her first album in 1979. But it hasn’t been until recently that her jazz side has found more opportunities.

“I’ve been developing a strong jazz presence and repertoire, which is very regional,” Schmidt said. “Folk music has been more my export product these days.”

The incorporation of jazz did confuse some people. Some folk groups were a little leery of staging a concert for her, and some jazz fans were a little suspicious.

“They assume if I’m a folk singer, I can’t possibly sing jazz. But it’s important to always be challenging yourself.”

Musicians face fan and economic pressures to stay with what works (and sells), while dealing with the internal pressure to grow creatively.

“Bonnie Raitt went from the blues thing to more pop and even jazz-tinged (songs). Joni Mitchell has gone through a lot of musical incarnations, to the chagrin of some people,” Schmidt said.

“I love it when people do what they obviously feel motivated to do, whether or not I like what they end up doing; it’s that they had the guts to do it.”

Ray Charles is another example, she said.

“When he wanted to do country music, his management went, ‘Oh my God.’ But he always followed his inner musical voice.

“Those changes represent a real sense of wonder and exploration still alive in these musicians.”

Pigeonholing Schmidt has always missed the mark because of her assortment of parts.

She’s had regular stints on “A Prairie Home Companion,” starred in a documentary called “I Sing Because I Can’t Fly,” contributed a song and an interview in the Les Blank movie, “Gap-Toothed Women,” and has her own jazz quintet.

Her shows include music, humor, and the spoken word, which she calls “primal in terms of incantation and ritualized communication. It taps in really deeply to people.”

Long-time fans might notice a change in her show from a decade ago.

“I’ve learned to become a better musician. The show is more dynamically interesting because I’ve learned more about nuance and dynamics.

“I think I’m more comfortable dwelling in the quiet places. Maybe I went full out more early on in my career because that’s the point I was at. The show’s more interesting today, more musically rich, and more fun for me.

“I’m better at stringing things together. It’s more like a one-woman show than a concert of songs.”

While Schmidt’s work is 95 percent original pieces, one of her songs was covered by Jefferson Starship, who sang “Blessing” on its “Windows of Heaven” album.

Schmidt found out about it a couple of years later (Starship’s record company did not send her the required licensing form).

“It was pretty cool, actually. It was pretty much like Sally Rogers and I originally recorded it. They just added the rock ‘n’ roll guitars and drums.”

Maybe she’ll try that next.

Claudia Schmidt has performances set in Seattle and Marysville.