Maria Muldaur doesn’t want to talk about the past. She shies away from a discussion about starting a roots-music revival act, the Even Dozen Jug Band, with famed players David Grisman and John Sebastian back in the ‘60s. The Bay Area singer also does not feel the need to expound anymore on her 1973 self-titled debut, which spawned the hit single “Midnight at the Oasis.” She also feels there is no reason to go into any more detail reminiscing about the time that she traveled down to North Carolina to learn how to play the fiddle from Doc Watson.

“If I talk about it anymore, I’m going to flip out,” she says.

Then she tells me to refer directly to the four-page biography in her press packet for all of the information about her impressive 40-year plus musical past. Muldaur says she wants to talk almost exclusively about her recent work and future endeavors.

When talk turns to the Grammy-nominated Richland Woman Blues, and 2005’s Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul, Muldaur is much more forthcoming. Both releases find the versatile vocalist looking back to the blues music of the early 20th century and covering seminal artists like Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith. Best of all, the songs are done in the way that they were originally recorded—stripped down, with just a couple of instruments and vocals.

Her recording of the traditional number “It’s a Blessing” was done with Bonnie Raitt in Muldaur’s living room, as Raitt played a slide guitar to accompany the gospel-tinged vocals.

“These are time-tested recipes that come down through the ages,” Muldaur says. “I like the unadulterated, undiluted original recipe.”

To get these recipes really cooking, Muldaur enlisted the help of other blues contemporaries. In addition to Raitt, she worked with Alvin Youngblood Hart, Taj Mahal and the guitar great Roy Rogers. Muldaur says she had only one criterion for selecting the impressive musicians on the two albums. “All of the people on these records share my admiration for the early blues pioneers,” she says.

Muldaur says she didn’t seek exact renderings of the classics with the guest artists, but rather wanted to covey the feelings of the songs.

“I didn’t ask anyone to play note for note, but just to impart the flavor,” she says.

Now, Muldaur is working on the last of her trilogy of tributes to early blues artists. Currently, she is mixing Naughty, Bawdy and Blue, a CD that covers artists like Smith and Victoria Spivey, and should be released by late next year.

Also, as befits a musician with a wide range of work, from an album covering Shirley Temple songs to jug band music from her earliest days, Muldaur has two other disparate works on the burner. One is a project of Bob Dylan’s love songs, and another is a collection of swampy blues and R&B originals that she will cut with her touring band.

With her current endeavors duly noted, Muldaur takes a second to look back on her life in music. “I had some pop hits, but that’s not what I’m about,” she says. “Over all, my career could be described as a rambling odyssey through roots music.”

MARIA MULDAUR PLAYS MONTEREY LIVE, 414 ALVARADO ST., MONTEREY, FRIDAY AT 9:30PM. $18/ADVANCE; $20/AT THE DOOR. 375-5483.