Looking back at her career, Patricia Barber has always been soft-spoken, short and to the point.

“So far, so good,” the jazz pianist/singer/songwriter mutters flatly over the phone. It is this very discrete and to-the-point demeanor that has shaped the 43-year-old’s musical voice into ultra-literate jazz/pop.

With her music “steeped” in the foundation of jazz and the classic American song, Barber describes her musical being as a portrayal of “certain elements of alternative pop and elements of contemporary classical.”

With three full-length albums and one live album under her belt, Barber has built her career defying conventions. Her latest full-length album, “Modern Cool,” has been nothing but a success, visiting more than one jazz chart across the country. The album sat comfortably at No. 9 on the Billboard Top 20 Jazz albums and at No. 1 on the on-line music store giant, Amazon.com listings.

Barber sings in a husky, alto voice, which often borders on dark and emotional. Accenting her seemingly improvisational piano playing, the album is very modern and very cool.

Educated and emotional, “Modern Cool” wears its heart on its sleeve, with a solid musical foundation, featuring a group of accomplished musicians. Bassist Michael Arnaopol has been playing with Barber for over 20 years, and guitarist John McClean has lent his skills on more than one album.

“‘Modern Cool’ is warmed by multicultural contemporary issues and a bit of a nostalgia for the 20th century,” Barber says. “I studied it just the year before at Northwestern University when I was getting my master’s degree in 20th century music and culture.

“But it certainly covers love, loneliness, sexuality and the things that all humans share. That tends to be the more emotional side of my writing.”

Aside from her more-than-relaxed jazz, Barber credits part of her success to her intellectually and emotionally driven lyrics.

“People tend to connect very quickly with the songs that have sort of a universal theme,” the singer says.

The daughter of a tenor saxophonist with big-band experience, Barber has been playing the piano since she was 6 years old. Taught by her father, it was her early music lessons that gave direction to her academic pursuits as well as her future career.

Originally from South Sioux City, Neb., Barber’s family relocated to Sioux City, Iowa. From there the family moved to the outskirts of Chicago. Barber returned to Iowa, however, to attend the University of Iowa in search of a music degree.

Barber then returned to Chicago, landing a steady gig at the Green Mill where she still plays while not on the road. It was there that she continued to develop her musical personality, specializing in piano trios and playing standards.

It is these quiet and more personal experiences that has led Barber to take a musical deviation from her cool jazz. In the beginning stages, her music was designed to pay respect to her influences.

“I’m working on a quieter project more in the tradition of me sitting at the piano with a piano trio and doing standards,” Barber says. “Which is more or less what I have been doing every night for 20 years.

“I didn’t want to record an album of that for a long time because I didn’t want to be pegged and be forced to do standards. But it is the basis of what I do. Now I feel I can do it because I’ve created an identity separate from that,” she says.

In the meantime, the songwriter has other plans. Barber’s latest release, “Companion,” is a live album recorded in an attempt to capture the singer’s live show.

“I guess the deciding factor in making the album was the record company asking me if there was anyway we could reproduce in some way what we do live,” Barber says.

“You see, many artists go on the road, and some people prefer their recordings and are disappointed when they hear them live. I kind of get the opposite reaction. I tend to get ‘We really love your records, but it doesn’t compare to hearing you live.’ We thought that maybe there was some element in the live performance that we could try to translate.”

An album such as “Companion” that nearly makes you “smell the second-hand smoke,” is an example of Barber and crew at their finest. The album, which was recorded at the Green Mill in Chicago, is the best of three nights in mid-July.

“This was intended to be a fun record, kind of bold and brassy like ‘Modern Cool’ but also fun,” Barber says. “We tried, as best we could, to capture the vibe of the Green Mill as it is every Sunday and Monday.

The title of the album, which is short, descriptive and curiously emotional, is a reflection of Barber’s music.

“The album might have been called ‘Modern Cool Companion,’ since that’s what I wanted it to be, a live companion to ‘Modern Cool,'” Barber says. “But the whole title would have been too long. So … ‘Companion.'”