Perfect setting for Sutton

For one evening, local jazz fans can imagine themselves nestled into the Oak Room at New York’s Algonquin Hotel.

Tierney Sutton, the guest artist at the Spokane Jazz Orchestra’s concert Saturday, is the kind of singer who fits right into that fabled cabaret spot. In 2004, she had a smash run at the Oak Room, wowing audiences with a voice that has been compared to Ella Fitzgerald.

In this show at the Bing Crosby Theater (formerly The Met), however, there will be one big difference.

“We’ll be performing with the big band (the SJO),” said Sutton by phone from her home in L.A. “The Oak Room holds only about 70 people, all of them crammed right up against you. There’s hardly room for the drums.”

Here, she’ll be backed by the power of the entire jazz orchestra under the direction of Dan Keberle. She’ll also be backed by her trio, consisting of Christian Jacob, Ray Brinker and Kevin Axt.

One segment of the concert will feature Sutton alone with her trio; the rest of the evening will be with the orchestra.

“We’ll be doing some selections from our CD ‘Something Cool’ and some selections from ‘My Fair Lady,’ ” said Sutton.

“We have done eight CDs, so it’s not a matter of what we’re going to do. It’s a matter of what we’re not going to do.”

Sutton has emerged over the last decade as one of the hottest jazz vocalists in the country. Her 2002 CD “Something Cool” made it to No. 1 on the jazz charts. That album included “My Fair Lady” selections as well as numbers which have become concert favorites, including “Crazy” and her unique version of “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead.”

Her 2005 live CD, “I’m With the Band,” earned her a Grammy nomination.

Sutton’s success at the Oak Room led eventually to her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops two years ago.

Yet when asked about her career highlights, she mentions a different kind of accomplishment: Keeping the band together for 14 years.

Sutton first started performing with this trio when she moved to Los Angeles from New England, where she studied Russian literature at Wesleyan University and briefly attended the Berklee College of Music. She and the trio have stayed together ever since, recording and touring together.

“They’re my collaborators and they have equal say in the arrangements we do and the material we do,” said Sutton. “They are beyond brilliant, and no one ever fails to notice how extraordinary they are.”

The first half of the concert will feature winners of the SJO’s “Young Giants of Jazz” high school competition. Preston Terry from Medical Lake High School and Dan Bullard from Lake City High School will be the featured soloists.