Fresh from the recording studio and jazzed up to perform, the Count Basie Orchestra will be coming to Eisenhower Auditorium Saturday night with special guest Nnenna Freelon.

The Count Basie Orchestra, a jazz band that was started by jazz legend Bill Basie, has become a phenomenon and a tradition. Its unique sound, combining blues and swing with an intense rhythm, is and has always been immediately recognizable.

Joining the orchestra on the tour will be jazz singer Freelon, who is currently working on a new album with the orchestra.

"They are still recording their album together, and it's neat to see performers while they are still in that process," said Laura Sullivan, marketing and communications director for the Center for the Performing Arts (CPA).

"They may be playing new things at the concert that haven't been released," Sullivan said.

Freelon said the album is still a work in progress.

"We're working on it," Freelon said. "The arrangements are written. Some of the things you'll hear at the concert will be sort of like a preview to the record because it's the same music that we're going to document on the record."

Freelon said the collaboration began as a celebration of Count Basie. They are recording pieces that honor all the great jazz legends.

"This project was started as a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Count Basie's birth a couple years ago," Freelon said.

"Special arrangements were written for me, and we're going to be honoring some of the many singers who've been with that band -- Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Billie Holiday," Freelon said.

For the performance, the orchestra will appear first and play a few classic favorites. Following this, Freelon will join the orchestra for an explosive combination.

"I think the way we're going to do it at Penn State is that the Basie Orchestra will come on first and play some of the things that you probably recognize and know the band for, like 'One O'clock Jump,' 'Little Darling' and 'April in Paris,' " Freelon said.

"And then, they will bring me on in the second half of the show," she added.

George Trudeau, director of CPA, has been watching the orchestra for years and said he is very excited to see them come to the Eisenhower Auditorium.

"They are so dynamic. You can feel the energy when they perform. They have been recording for the last year and now they are going on tour. It's too good to be true," Trudeau said. "I have to pinch myself to believe it's happening."

Freelon didn't originally plan on becoming a musician. She had gone to school for health care administration, and only years later did she decide to take up music, her first love.

"I always sang in church," she said. "It wasn't with a professional dream or goal. My parents didn't really think that going to school to study music was a great use of my opportunities as a young woman, as a person who did well in school."

Freelon said those who have come before her are important to her music and end up enhancing it.

"I think it's really important to stand on the shoulders of those who came before you," she said. "But if this music is to remain vital and relevant, we have to first of all find some new stories. And we have to understand that people are living complicated lives. That's how we're able to stay connected with an audience."

Trudeau said this performance is one that is sure to be diverse, contemporary and enjoyable.

"It's jazz, music that's timeless," Trudeau said. "There's a large selection of works, standard and contemporary. It's a time to enjoy fabulous singing and music. It can't be beat."