Patti Austin at the Gem Theater

Patti Austin’s “Baby, Come to Me,” her duet with James Ingram that reached No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart in 1983, remains the singer’s biggest pop moment. But it’s a relative blip in a long musical life: Austin has been singing since she was coaxed onto the stage at New York’s Apollo Theater at age 4 by jazz great Dinah Washington, and she has recorded with Franki Valli and Michael Jackson, among others. On her 1988 album, The Real Me, she returned to jazz, singing standards with a wonderfully distinctive R&B flair. Since then, backed by a big band on For Ella (2002) and Avant Gershwin (2007) — which won her a Best Jazz Vocal Grammy — Austin has been embraced by jazz fans. Saturday night, she brings her ensemble to the Gem Theater.