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On Sunday night, the stage of the Steamboat Springs High School auditorium will reverberate with the sound of Nnenna Freelon's voice, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra, one of jazz music's most legendary big bands.

Freelon will hold on her shoulders all the weight of the singers who previously stood in front of the Count Basie Orchestra --Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra.

The Count Basie Orchestra was at the forefront of the swing era of jazz. Since the band's inception, the group has received 17 Grammy awards.

Since the count's death in 1984, the band has gone through several changes in leadership. The current bandleader, Bill Hughes, has been in the trombone section of the band for 50 years.

The orchestra's 35-week tour spans Europe (where it was last week), Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and the United States in celebration of the count's 100th birthday.

Several of those shows will be performed with Freelon, culminating with a show at the Kennedy Center in New York City.

Freelon, who was on tour last week with her own band, was reached via e-mail. This will be her third time performing in Steamboat.

Q. How did you end up collaborating with the Count Basie Orchestra?

A. I've always wanted to work with that band and such a great group of musicians. Dennis Wilson, a terrific arranger and trombonist, had collaborated with the orchestra for a long time and contacted my manager for a project he was working on with the Count Basie Orchestra. He asked me to participate. Of course, I said yes, and after that, we decided to tour to celebrate that marvelous genius, Count Basie's, 100th birth date.

Q. How have you adjusted your set list to perform with Count Basie?

A. I really wanted to pay tribute to all the legendary and great vocalists who worked with this band -- Ella, Sarah (Vaughan), Billie and so many others. It's such a privilege to explore that music, and I was thrilled when they asked me to do some original music, as well. Hopefully, fans and the audience will consider continuing that tradition. So you'll hear some new, some familiar, and all in tribute to the legacy left by Count Basie and his orchestra and those who performed with them.

Q. How do you see yourself on the timeline of other female jazz singers such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald?

A. First, I'm honored to be mentioned in the same timeline. They have most certainly influenced me and generations of singers. And not just in jazz but in many genres. And not just as singers, but as writers, activists and so much more. I hope that I can carry on that tradition of adding something to this music, as they did.

Q. You have three children and a husband. For the women who want it all, how do you balance a family and an international touring schedule?

A. "Having it all" is almost more fantasy than reality. Balance is very hard to do under any circumstances. Communication is key. Letting the people in your life know how important they are to you and showing children, day by day, the work that it takes to make any dream a reality means that you have to remove the fantasy and deal with the reality. And that reality is hard work, compromise and dedication to your loved ones and to your own ethics and standards.

Q. How is the jazz scene in Europe -- from what you've seen on this tour -- different from the scene in the states?

A. I've been fortunate enough to travel to Europe on tour many times in the past few years. I would say that this music, jazz, is certainly widely respected and appreciated overseas. It certainly receives great sponsorship from the public, from government organizations. But overseas jazz does have a very active life in clubs, maybe a little more than here at home.