Melissa Manchester makes Smith Center debut Saturday

But the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic (from their 1951 musical “The King and I”) contains a line that defines Manchester’s recording: “if you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught.”

That’s exactly what’s happened to the Grammy-winning singer — who’s making her Smith Center debut Saturday at Cabaret Jazz — when her students at the University of Southern California introduced her to the wonderful world of crowdfunding.

“Crowdfunding is the young people’s norm,” she says in a telephone interview, “but I couldn’t figure out how you took the first step.” So one of her students explained the process (“he spoke very slowly,” Manchester remembers) that led to her 20th album, “You’ve Gotta Love the Life.”

Her 21st, “The Fellas” — set for release Sept. 8 — was financed the same way, via an Indiegogo campaign that invited the singer’s “Fanchesters” to contribute varying amounts to the recording, qualifying for studio visits and co-producer credits (for $500-$5,000 donations), early downloads ($10-$35) and perks in between.

“That’s what was so touching — they had a proprietary interest” in the recording, which took place in May at Citrus College, a Southern California community college where Manchester is honorary artist in residence. Citrus’ big band — the Blue Note Orchestra, featuring students, alumni and faculty — provided accompaniment.

“It was sort of this living, breathing journey,” she says of the crowdfunding process. “I didn’t realize people would be interested in what happened behind the scenes.”

Unlike the 1970s, when the 66-year-old Manchester began her career — first as a member of Bette Midler’s backup group the Harlettes, then as a solo singer and songwriter — today’s crowdfunding process means “I am the record company president,” she notes. “I’m in charge of my art.”

The upcoming “Fellas” is an unofficial sequel to Manchester’s 1989 “Tribute,” in which she honored Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Edith Piaf, Dionne Warwick and other musical influences.

But the process of recording — and getting those recordings to listeners — has utterly changed in the intervening decades.

Thanks to crowdfunding, “it’s just me” and the “musical choices I’m making,” Manchester explains. “It either works or it doesn’t.”

Although longtime pal Barry Manilow is one of “The Fellas,” harmonizing with Manchester on “For Me and My Gal,” Saturday’s Cabaret Jazz audiences are likelier to hear other numbers from the album, which includes nods to Sinatra (“Night and Day”), Martin (the album’s first single, “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head”), Cole (“Smile”), Bennett (“How Do You Keep the Music Playing”) and Torme (a scat-punctuated “Love Is Just Around the Corner”).

Also in the mix: Johnny Mathis (“Chances Are”) and the lesser-known Johnny Hartman (“They Say It’s Wonderful”). Manchester discovered the latter when she heard his collaborations with legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, describing Hartman’s singing as “just perfection.”

Cabaret Jazz audiences also will hear Manchester’s catalog of hits, from big ballads (“Midnight Blue,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud”) to bouncy numbers (exemplified by her 1983 Grammy winner “You Should Hear How She Talks About You”).

When she began her musical career, Manchester just “wanted to walk the artist’s life” path, she says. “It was, ‘I hope somebody records my songs.’ ”

In those days, she played small rooms, then graduated to big rooms, “and in this current chapter of my life, here I am in small rooms again.”

A more intimate setting means “I can convey a greater sense of myself, a greater sense of sharing,” she explains. Audience members “feel close to you,” not just physically, but “they can see the spell you’re trying to (cast) on the stage. And afterward, you can shake hands and meet people and sign albums. It’s dear to hear what my music has meant to them.”

As for what her music has meant to her, Manchester says she’s learned a lot from teaching at USC.

After “all those years spent on the road,” Manchester “can actually impart some wisdom” to her students. “It is only through teaching,” she adds, “that you realize you know what you know.”

From the Strip to The Smith Center

Melissa Manchester makes her Smith Center debut Saturday with two shows in Cabaret Jazz.

But it’s hardly her Las Vegas debut.

For decades, she’s performed in showrooms from the Strip to downtown; her most recent Las Vegas appearance was “about a year ago at the Golden Nugget.”

Her first Vegas performance memories include opening for Kenny Rogers at the now-imploded Riviera.

“As a pop singer, it was really looked at with a skewed eye — why a pop singer would sing in Las Vegas,” Manchester says of that Strip showroom gig. “But I so admired Kenny,” she adds, describing him as “a great guy” and “very wise.”

One other aspect of that booking stands out in Manchester’s memory: smoke.

“In those days, people were smoking,” she recalls, recalling “the high rollers with their big cigars. They would blow their awful smoke from the front row.”

Those days long gone, Manchester’s more than ready for Cabaret Jazz.

“A lot of people that I know have performed there and recommended the room,” she says. “They said it’s a great performance space.”

Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.