Micki Rhyne: Singing Wasn’t Part of the Plan : Jazz: ‘I wanted to be a musician,’ she says. ‘It’s more important for me to have (their) respect . . . than to have a hit.’

Micki Rhyne is having a musical conversation with pianist Llew Matthews. It’s her weekly Wednesday evening show at Kikuya Restaurant, and Rhyne is intent on the exchange, standing erect as Matthews repeats a percussive, samba-like figure before she bends forward to respond with vocal scat.

They trade knowing smiles as the exchange becomes more intense, the sensual rhythm driven by drummer Nick Martinis’ rattling snare and bassist Jack Prather’s driving beat. When the singer finally breaks away into the lyric of the song, it comes as a surprise: “On the Street Where You Live” . . . done as a samba?

The rhythmic treatment of Lerner and Loewe’s hit from “My Fair Lady” works well. Rhyne seems particularly attuned to the rhythm, adding propulsion of her own with smart placement of the tune’s words and tasteful, stylized embellishments. With the unusual rhythm and her own vocal character, Rhyne has accomplished every singer’s goal: a well-worn tune made fresh and vital.

Earlier in the set, Rhyne used a more straight-ahead approach to “Good Morning, Heartache,” keeping her embellishments to a minimum while emphasizing the tune’s melancholy lyric. The tune was on an album that made a big impression on the aspiring vocalist even before she was in kindergarten.

“My mother had lots of records,” Rhyne said in a phone conversation recently. “She was more of a Broadway-show person. She taught me all the tunes from ‘Showboat’ and a lot of the musicals. But there was this one Ella Fitzgerald album that had a huge effect on me. I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t heard that record. It had ‘Stella by Starlight,’ ‘My Reverie,’ ‘Night in Tunisia’ and ‘Good Morning, Heartache.’ I was mesmerized by the sound of Ella’s voice and would listen to it over and over again.”

Rhyne, who appears tonight at the Robert B. Moore Theatre at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, says she went through three copies of the LP, now owns the CD and can still recall the words from every tune on it.

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Following the example of her mother--an amateur vocalist who sang with the church choir, in local theater productions and occasionally on the local radio station of their hometown of Millis, Mass.--Rhyne began to pursue the vocalist’s craft.

“I began to sing in the adult choir at church with my mom when I was only 5 or 6. I was always the token child in the community-theater productions. ‘Goody Goody’ became my signature tune, and I sang it all through elementary and high school at assemblies and talent competitions.”

But, like her mother, Rhyne never threw herself fully into singing. Instead, she got a teaching degree, then spent five years working with emotionally disabled children. Meanwhile, she continued performing at private parties and the occasional club date.

Then, in her late 20s, she began to get serious. She moved to California in 1984, and, as she tells it, “made a demo, started getting calls and began working a lot, mostly in smaller clubs.”

Her big break came with the help of her brother, Chris Rhyne, keyboardist in Merv Griffin’s band for six years. “I was playing a club in Gardena, and Merv and my brother and some other guys in the band came down, and he ended up staying for two sets.”

“I came over to his table at intermission to talk to him, and he asked if could sing some standards--I’d been singing more contemporary, rock ‘n’ roll material. So I sang some standards for him and he must have liked what he heard.”

Griffin was so impressed that he tabbed the singer for one of his pet projects: a proposed big-band variety television show to be called “The Cocoanut Ballroom.” Rhyne was to be the featured vocalist.

The show never made it beyond the pilot stage, but the work opened doors for Rhyne. She appeared twice on Griffin’s syndicated talk show and is a regular performer at Merv Griffin’s Resort Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

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Between trips to Atlantic City, Rhyne keeps up regular appearances at the Warehouse in Marina del Rey--she’s in her third year doing weekends there--and, since February, at Kikuya.

With so much work, it’s surprising to hear her say, “I’ve never really wanted to be a singer.” Then she explains: “I wanted to be a musician. It’s more important for me to have the respect of the musicians I work with than to have a hit record.”

Still, she said two record companies have shown interest in signing her, and this may be the year she releases her first album.

“Working so much, I’ve really improved as a singer over the last few years. I’m always scrutinizing myself, my appearance, my understanding of the music in an attempt to reach a higher level,” she said.

“Talent works on a continuum--you can’t grow any faster than what comes naturally,” she said. “But I’m always trying to improve. . . . There’s so much to understand.”

Her recent studies have focused on George Gershwin and his music, and it’s Gershwin she’ll focus on during her OCC appearance.

“I have become a huge Gershwin fan and have really got fixated on the Tin Pan Alley era. I’ve been reading about him and the times. It’s important to understand the business and political climate of that era to understand the songs.”

Along with that desire to learn goes her desire not to be pigeon-holed.

“I don’t like to be thought of as a jazz singer. People have a preconception as to what jazz is, and they have a mind-set as to what they’ll hear. I like to think (of my repertoire) just as beautiful music. Sure, I sing a lot of popular tunes that jazz artists have recorded, and I do a lot of improvisation. But the term ‘jazz’ is much broader than people think.”

* Singer Micki Rhyne appears with pianist Marc LeBrun’s trio tonight at the Robert B. Moore Theatre, Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. $10 in advance, $14 at the door, $9 in advance for seniors and Orange Coast College students. Call (714) 432-5880.