Mr. A-Z went from playing coffee shops to E Center

Jason Mraz thought he was at the top of his career when he was playing coffee shops in San Diego, Calif.

"I mean, I was making money and playing music," Mraz said during a phone call from Boston. "People were liking what they were hearing, and I was writing a bunch of songs. Little did I know that I could do more."

Mraz hit the big time with his Elektra Records 2002 debut "Waiting for My Rocket to Come."

The CD sold more than 1 million copies and peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Heatseekers Chart.

The next year, he released his second CD, "Mr. A-Z," which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy Award for best engineered album.

"When I was a kid, my mother took me to the piano and helped me shape my fingers so I could play," said Mraz of his early musical training. "I think I was 4. And then up until I was 18, I was attached to the radio. Then in 1989, I took control of what I listened to. But I liked all kinds of music. So, I was getting into Vanilla Ice, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, Dave Matthews Band — it was all kinds of music that made me want to make my own music."

His diverse taste, he said, was instrumental in what kind of music he plays today. "My show is a variety show. I try to do different things. It's difficult to choose which songs I want to play because I have more albums out now. But I want to make it interesting."

He did say, however, that he never thought being diverse would cause problems with his fans.

"When I write music, I write because I want to and because something feels good when I do," he said. "I don't worry about whether or not the fans will like what I do. And I haven't thought about whether a fan will like one song and not like another because the songs are so different. Hmmm."

Mraz's most recent CD, "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things," which features the hits "I'm Yours" and "Make It Mine," is the focus of his current tour, he said. "But there are songs that I need to play from my past. And that keeps me busy."

Mraz was surprised at the success he has seen so far.

"I mean, tonight I'm playing Boston," he said. "I don't have any family here. But the show is sold out. That freaks me out. I mean, if I was playing some place that I had family, I would expect to have family there, and I'd expect my family to bring friends and other family members. But I don't know anyone in Boston, and it's still sold out."

While Mraz tries to wrap his mind around the fact that people will pay money to see him perform, he is planning his future.

"I would like to give back something to the community," he said. "I would like to open up my own coffee shop and nurture up-and-coming musicians. The coffee-shop scene is getting a little sparse, and a lot of the privately owned ones are closing. I would like to open one and help start the concept up again."

If you go

What: Jason Mraz

Where: E Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Drive

When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

How much: $26.50-$32

Phone: 325-7328

Web: www.ticketmaster.com

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com