THE SPIRIT OF 78:

Born in 1964, Ms. Krall grew up in British Columbia and today divides her time between Vancouver and New York with husband, Elvis Costello, and their children. As a preteen, Ms. Krall spent hours listening to her father's vast collection of 78-rpm records. Fascinated by the '20s and '30s, she traveled at age 16 to Williams College in Massachusetts to visit the archives of jazz-age band leader Paul Whiteman.

"It had nothing to do with Whiteman, though--I was intrigued by Bill Challis's complex arrangements for the band," she said. "When I saw the scores and harmonies he wrote and the parts for [cornetist] Bix Beiderbecke, I got chills."

In preparation for her new album, Ms. Krall selected 35 songs from her father's collection and gave sheet music to producer T Bone Burnett. "I had no idea which songs T Bone would choose until I arrived at the studio," she said. "We wanted the element of surprise and improvisation."

"We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye" and "Just Like a Butterfly (That's Caught in the Rain)" were inspired by the relaxed recordings of '20s singer Annette Hanshaw. There are nods to Bing Crosby, Gene Austin and Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards.

Breaking theme, Mr. Burnett suggested Betty James's 1961 rockabilly single "I'm a Little Mixed Up." "Playing rock 'n' roll piano on there was a challenge," Ms. Krall said. "It's not like jazz improvisation. It's all mood, guts and blood." Ms. Krall also took on Ray Charles's "Lonely Avenue" from 1956--with an arrangement that references Miles Davis's album "A Tribute to Jack Johnson." As for the title track, it was first recorded in 1928 by vaudeville clarinetist Ted Lewis--with lyrics she calls "a feminine statement, in a weird way."

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