Erin McKeown :: Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

Get ready to rearrange your CD collection, because Erin McKeown knows exactly where you should file her new disc, Lafayette: put it under "Saturday morning lumber yard."

Pressed to explain, McKeown laughs and says, "It's that sunshine - driving the car - but you've got a purpose, feeling. You're going to go build something." I was briefed that McKeown scoffed at arranging music by genre and had once suggested that record stores should be organized by emotion. I wasn't prepared for the specificity of her diagnosis of musical moods, but her description clicked with the breezy vibe of Lafayette.

It's no surprise that the out singer-songwriter, a Virginia native who now calls Western Mass. her home, rejects categorization. Even when her career began, McKeown's then-spare sound, which was mostly her and her guitar, blended folk with pop, country and the blues. Her musical palette expanded to swing and jazz as her career blossomed. Last year's Sing You Sinners was a playful romp through the American Songbook, with McKeown taking a break from songwriting to reinterpret some of her favorite standards. That demanded a bigger sound that's carried over to Lafayette, a live album of one of her swinging sets at Joe's Pub in New York.

The big band sound suits McKeown's softly quirky voice, and the only wonder is that she didn't explore it earlier. But as she says, everything evolves. "Several years ago," she explains, "it would have driven me crazy to be responsible for that amount of music and parts. So I think the more comfortable I get with myself as a writer and musician, the more comfortable I am with bringing more people into it."

McKeown has had plenty of time to reflect on her changing career lately, as she revisited some of her older material on Lafayette. "I'm in a totally different place now," she muses, "and I kind of marvel at the old songs, that I felt as much as I did and was able to articulate it at that age. I find as I get older that I want to use less words and say things more clearly, so I kind of marvel at the amount of words. When you're younger you write a song about all the love you feel for someone over the entire course of a relationship, and when you're older you write the song about the cigarette they left on the counter."

McKeown may be finding elegance, but that doesn't mean she's slowing down. Her last two albums are part of a four-point plan. "I had this vision about the next four projects I wanted to do," she recalls. "All these ideas came at once, which was amazing. One was a standards album and one was a live album, so I've got two of them done. I've been working on another original album. And the last thing is a record of demos from the last 10 years." She chuckled and adds, "That'll be a tiny release for the fans. I'll put it out on the porch with some lemonade."

After focusing on her band and older material - both her own and others' - McKeown said she's eager to get back to songwriting. "I made myself feel like a hamster on a wheel for a while, and it's been really nice to get off that. The covers album let me keep working, and work on my musical chops. I think I'm a much better guitar player than I was a few years ago."

To prime the pump, McKeown has been collaborating with her drummer, Alison Miller, on material for a "conceptual art band" project. Put another checkmark on her list of genres, but don't expect to hear any of the material anytime soon. There's the other half of that four point plan to get through, not to mention McKeown's busy touring schedule.

"This is my busiest year in a while. 175-200 dates this year. I love life on the road."

-----

Erin McKeown plays three sets at Club Passim next week, with opening act Joshua James. Shows Wed., Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. and Thurs. Oct. 18 at 7 and 10 p.m. At 47 Palmer Street, Cambridge. Tickets $25.

info: www.clubpassim.org or www.erinmckeown.com