Steamboat Springs — Carol Frazier said a jazz performance can be equated to skiing: pick a line, point the skis, go for it and no second guesses.

“That’s where I find the magic,” said Frazier, a longtime Colorado jazz singer and songwriter. “You can’t hang back with skiing and the same goes for jazz. You just have to go with it and trust yourself, the music and musicians.”

Trusting her intuition and celebrating music along the way, Frazier will be in Steamboat this weekend for a show with her fellow “jazz cats.”

Fort Collins musician Brian Hull will join Frazier at the Chief Theater for a 7 p.m. Friday show. The two have traveled together and combine bands to create a world of funk and jazz interwoven with original and classic tunes.

Also taking the stage with the two singers will be Victor Mestas, an award-winning keyboardist from Venezuela. On saxophone will be special guest Andrew Vogt and Patrick Atwater on bass. In addition, Larry Thompson will join on drums, and he has collaborated with artists such as Otis Taylor, John Denver, Shawn Colvin, Al Cooper, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lee Hooker and Dan Fogelberg, among other endeavors.

Thompson said with each of the musicians emulating talent of their own, together they create a group of high caliber. In rehearsal Thursday afternoon, the music-making process was effortless, he said.

“When you have people of this level, something incredible always happens,” Thompson said. “Music is one of those things that has a lot to do with alchemy based on the components involved.”

Each of the players grew up around music or started at an early age. Frazier said that when she was growing up with a traditional piano background, she was told to stay inside that box. But she decided she wanted to get out of that box and explore the unknown of jazz.

“I would stand by the jazz room and wish myself inside the room,” said Frazier, who attended Colorado State University to study music performance and was part of the CSU symphony as a vocalist and viola player. “I loved the movement and wild chord structures of jazz. There is a conversation that goes on between the musicians within the songs.”

Chief Theater Executive Director Scott Parker said this will be the first time the Friends of the Chief has incorporated a jazz show into its programming.

“The Chief Theater is the perfect venue for live jazz music, you can sit back, relax and enjoy a cocktail in an intimate setting with great sound,” Parker said. “Having these incredibly talented musicians for our first jazz performance is just amazing.”

Crossing boundaries and language barriers, Thompson said jazz music has the ability to inspire audiences all around the world, but the fleeting moment of music must be cherished.

“It can be bittersweet when you look past the show,” he said. “Those moments where that unexplainable magic happens within the music should be cherished. It’s like looking at a child and realizing he or she will graduate and be gone. This is similar to that because you never want it to end.”

To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@ExploreSteamboat.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1