To those longtime fans of Claudia Schmidt who’ve only ever seen her do a solo show — and have yearned to see her backed by a full band — well, here’s your chance.

Schmidt, who tours as a solo artist, will have the sympathetic backing of a four-piece band when she comes to The Ark on Sunday. And it’s not just the extra textures of additional instruments that will be different. The show will also be a jazzier one than Schmidt fans are accustomed to hearing.

During her 30-plus years career as a recording artist, Schmidt’s “national network has been primarily folk-based,” as she puts it. But in addition to folk and blues styles, she’s always had an abiding interest in jazz styles, which she would sometimes weave into her performances.

And then, about 10 years ago, she began working more and more with jazz musicians in her Traverse City home base. (She’s from the Detroit area originally.)

“That experience has really pulled me deeper into jazz, and I think I’ve developed into a pretty good jazz singer. And working with those musicians helped me become more musically sophisticated. It’s been a natural progression for me,” says Schmidt.

In 2006, she showcased her jazz talents on a live album recorded at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, and her latest disc, “Promising Sky,” is a folk-jazz effort recorded with a group of Traverse-area players that Schmidt has dubbed the Funtet.

Many may hear the music on the new disc as having a vintage jazz feel, and some of the tunes do indeed evoke ‘30s-era acoustic jazz. “But I see it as more of a cross between folk and jazz, and this group can go either way — they can play folky or jazzy. That’s great, when you’re backed by a group that can be that fluid,” says Schmidt.

The Ark show will be one of Schmidt’s extremely rare “road trips” with a band — because, for most folk artists, the cost of touring with a band is prohibitive.

“I figured, if I was going to take a chance, The Ark is a good place to do it, because I have a pretty good fan base in Ann Arbor, and it’s not too far to travel,” says Schmidt during a recent phone interview from Traverse. “After The Ark show, the band will come back up here and I’ll move on to my next gig, which will be a solo show.”

Schmidt and the Funtet will also do some of their folk-jazz shows at various festivals in the northern part of the state the summer and fall.

“I loved recording this album, and I love performing with a band like this,” Schmidt says. “Recording and performing with a band gives you a chance to develop musical ideas in a collaborative way, which is very exciting. It’s something I crave, that collaborative motif, because, being an artist who mostly performs solo, I don’t get a chance to do it that often.

“And I think it’s made me a better musician. It’s helped me think of songs in a different way. I’m not ‘directive’ — I start out with a chart, but I also am completely open to letting the guys bring their own ideas in.”

The core members of the Funtet are Don Julin on mandolin, Ron Getz on guitars, Jack Dryden on bass and Randy Marsh on drums and harmonica. The album also features a few guest players and singers.

Interestingly, the Funtet was not an existing group before the members hooked up with Schmidt “No, they’re all guys that I had performed with in different settings, at different gigs, or they’d played with each other at various gigs. I sort of ‘assembled’ them last year, to do a show in Traverse to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my debut album, and the chemistry was so good, that I decided, ‘I have to do an album with these guys.”

For The Ark performance, Schmidt and the Funtet will mostly focus on songs from “Promising Sky,” but “we’ll also do some full-band, jazzier arrangements of some of my older songs.”

The album was released on New Year’s Eve, but Schmidt had already been performing most of the songs in her live show for anywhere from six to 18 months, depending on the song. “But now the audience will be hearing them in a more fleshed-out fashion,” she says. Listen to Claudia Schmidt "Can't Get Yourself Out Of Love" (MP3).

One highlight of the album is the stirring title track. Inspired by the South African choral-music tradition, it features the wonderful harmony vocals of fellow Michigan artists Rachael Davis, May Erlewine and Seth Bernard. The theme of the song is one of hope for the future, and the result — both lyrically and musically — is quite inspiring.

Schmidt further explores positivity on “If All Goes Well,” which celebrates spiritual resilience. “Wisconsin Country,” meanwhile, is a poetic description of an autumn journey — a journey that is both geographic and spiritual. It’s based on a trip that Schmidt took 30 years ago, but she says it took her 30 years to write about it. Adding to the atmospheric vibe of the track is Dryden’s bowed bass and the winsome flute playing of guest artist Nancy Stagnitta.

All of the songs on the disc are Schmidt’s original compositions except for the Tony Bennett-Bill Evans standard “We’ll Be Together Again,” wherein Schmidt puts her impressive vocal talents on display with a subtly seductive performance.

Schmidt says that she relished the opportunity to bring Davis, Erlewine and Bernard into the studio to record the title song. Those three are all about a generation younger than Schmidt, “but we’re all pals, and we’ve participated in a lot of shows together up here.” Davis, a Cadillac native, grew up listening to Schmidt’s music and cites Schmidt as a major inspiration for wanting to pursue a career as a singer.

In fact, says Schmidt, “I’ve been talking to Rachael” and to the members of the Lansing-based string band, Steppin’ In It, about joining forces and “recording an album together.” (Davis is married to the group’s bassist, Dominic John Suchyta.)

“We want to call it ‘Steppin’ in Schmidt.’”

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.