Knight Ridder Newspapers

Now in the middle of a tour with Alaskan folkie Jewel, Rob Thomas is ready to wrap up his current gig as a solo act.

“I think this is it for this record,” Thomas said during a phone interview from a tour stop in Washington, D.C. “I’m taking a break.”

But the Matchbox Twenty frontman, who issued his solo debut “Something to Be” last year, said he has learned plenty during his time alone.

While making “Something to Be,” Thomas very consciously chose collaborators who would push him in new directions, just as Thomas’ own partnership with Carlos Santana on the 1999 hit “Smooth” made him a breakout star.

“For me, the album was the reverse of Carlos,” Thomas explained. “He’s this incredible guitar player, and each time he does a song, he finds a new vocalist.

“I looked at what I was doing as a duets record, but it was me joined by all these musicians I love.”

That meant inviting everyone from solo star John Mayer to former Prince associate Wendy Melvoin to soul/hip-hop drummer Gerald Heyward.

“It brought out my experimental side,” Thomas said. “We were, like, “What would it sound like if we paired Tom Petty’s guitar player with Dr. Dre’s bass player?”‘

To re-create the album live, Thomas assembled a tight touring band with the ability to turn on a dime and make the usually staid Thomas – oh, yes – funky.

“We’re not some jazz fusion group, but each individual instrument has taken on its own life, and each night, the musicians can take it into new directions,” he said. “We still want to serve the songs, but our goal is to get up there and genuinely have fun. I think that becomes infectious.”

With sets that hover around the two-hour mark, Thomas has been playing some Matchbox Twenty material, with new arrangements, as well as a fresh take on “Smooth.” He has also built an ever-growing pool of cover versions that includes songs from the Eagles, Talking Heads, Smashing Pumpkins, Cyndi Lauper, Al Green and Maroon 5. (He also invites Jewel onstage for a run through the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.”)

“The covers change every night,” Thomas said. “We’ll go off on a two- or three-song tear.”

Sometimes it works, like his take on David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” that “just slams.”

But there have been a few missteps, too.

“One night, we came out and did “Always on My Mind,”‘ he said. “I think we had gotten a little too high that night. It’s such a beautiful song, but Willie Nelson is the one who should sing it.”

When Thomas returns to his day job with Matchbox Twenty, he figures he’ll have plenty of stories to share.

“After 10 years of being with the same guys, it’s hard to feel innovative and creative,” he said. “But I think we’re all going to come back into this as completely changed musicians. It was good for us to all go off and find the need to show off to each other again.”