Soap and Swing

Steve Blackwood has two loves: acting and singing. He’s not about to pick one over the other. “They’re both 100% important to me,” he said. “I apply the same intensity to each, trying to fulfill the screenwriter’s intent and the songwriter’s intent, given my interpretation of what they wrote.”

Blackwood is active in each of his passions. He’s a regular on the NBC daytime drama “Days of our Lives,” playing the comic villain, Bart.

“He’s a wisecracking, jazzy character, who you love because he’s humorous,” said Blackwood, a Detroit native who lives in Burbank.

Possessing a pleasing tenor voice and a hip way with lyrics, Blackwood will sing tonight at Monteleone’s West in Tarzana. He also appears occasionally at Overstreet’s in Beverly Hills and has played out-of-town gigs as well. Some of the latter have been at jazz clubs, such as Pearl’s in San Francisco. Other appearances are related to the TV show, as when Blackwood traveled to Salem, Ill., in November for Salemfest, an annual national celebration of the drama.

“There I sang a couple of sets with a local band,” he said. “It’s a real treat to bring jazz and blues and swing to people who might not be used to hearing it.”

At Monteleone’s, Blackwood will work with pianist Karen Hernandez’s trio, offering well-known as well as obscure standards “with a bluesy twist.” Some will be drawn from his debut CD, “I Don’t Worry About a Thing” and some from a new demo he’s shopping around. His feel for drama is part of his approach.

“If I’m doing ‘Black Coffee’ or ‘Angel Eyes,’ I get into the character as I do as an actor and let the song’s story flow out of me,” he said.

Blackwood’s performance will start at 7 p.m. at Monteleone’s West, 19337 Ventura Blvd., in Tarzana. Call (818) 996-0662 for more information.