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Yankees are invading Blount County this weekend, but when said Yankee is chanteuse Sara Schwabe with her jazz combo in tow, that's not a bad thing.

Sara Schwabe and Her Yankee Jass Band will perform Saturday night at Maryville's Back Hills Café and Pickin' Parlor, a venue known for its roots music and bluegrass offerings. While a jazz band with a period look may seem out-of-place at such an establishment, it's a perfect fit given Schwabe's penchant for performance diversity.

"I think one of the ways we continue to grow as a band is in the musical risks that we take," Schwabe told The Daily Times this week. "Hardly ever do we play the same song the same way. We take lots of different solos and try lots of improvisation to keep things fresh and try new things; we try playing the same song in three or four different styles, and I think audiences really appreciate that, too.

"As far as the visual risks, I think that's one of our main things. People aren't given the same show every single night, and I think what we do is really fun for people who are used to seeing jazz played in a particular way — listening, clapping politely after every solo and things like that. It's nice that they're paying attention like that, but nothing makes us happier as when people are dancing to what we play — when they feel compelled to move, to clap, to stand up, to sing along, especially in places that are sort of known for having real legit bands.

"That's when you notice it, when you see people emotionally moved by the music," Schwabe added. "When you've got the 80-year-old guy up there dancing with the 22-year-old girl and everybody having a good time — the different social classes and age groups mingling, and it's all because of the music. That feels really good."

The group has been together for more than four years and began when Schwabe, working at the time at The Radisson in downtown Knoxville, was charged with finding suitable entertainment for a group of World War II veterans coming to town. The previous year, the group had cajoled Schwabe into singing a song for them, and the old guys were so pleased, Schwabe's boss encouraged her to do it again. After a guitarist — who just happened to wander into the Radisson at the right time seeking work — turned her on to drummer Phil Pollard, the band was conceived. The event was a success, and not long afterward, Schwabe persuaded a friend who worked at Market Square's Preservation Pub to give her new band a chance at entertaining the Knoxville public. The show led to a standing Wednesday night gig, and that led to Sara Schwabe and Her Yankee Jass Band popping up all over the place. (In deciding on a band name, they opted to proudly proclaim their origins — Schwabe is from Minnesota, and other band members are from various Northern states. The "jass" part was included to set the group apart from other jazz combos and is the way the musical genre was originally spelled during its Tin Pan Alley heyday.)

Drawing on her background in theater, Schwabe added theatrical elements to the band's stage presentation — period dress, a smoky, sensual lounge-singer vibe, a cabaret-feel. It heightens the enjoyment of both performers and the audience, she said.

"I think when you have more of a period quality to it, things are a little more stylistic, and you can take things a little further and play music to a little more extreme than you would mainstream jazz or mainstream folk," she said. "It's fun, and when you just look at popular music and bands like the Dresden Dolls and other group, there's a trend toward being very stylistic.

"I think, too, that sometimes that kind of a performance style helps people to kind of identify. It helps artists to identify with who they are and helps them come up with an image, and it also helps audiences. And it's visually stimulating, too, and not just musically, which is nice."

Lately, Schwabe and Her Yankee Jass Band have been finding gigs to be plentiful in East Tennessee. The band has a standing Wednesday night gig at Sapphire, on Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. The group has performed at the Knoxville Museum of Art's "Alive After Five" concert series (twice) and rang in New Year's Eve at Market Square's Preservation Pub. The band hopes to record a new album in the summer, Schwabe said, and wants to launch an actual radio show based on a springtime cabaret performance at the Black Box Theatre in Knoxville.

"It was modeled after a 1940s radio show, sort of similar to 'A Prairie Home Companion' but with our own flair to it," she said. "We're hoping to get it on the radio as a true radio show. We're talking with different radio stations about doing it with different sound effects. We're just trying to get into some different projects — more unique things that explore everybody's talents."