The CD contains Connick orginals, true, but it definitely showcases the jazz musician's love of the past through time-honored songs such as "Easy to Love," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Time After Time," and "Love For Sale."

During a recent telephone interview, Connick, 31, confirmed that a listener can indeed trace his influences in the composers he chooses to cover: Cole Porter, Henry Mancini, and Irving Berlin on the new release, for instance.

But Connick said it would be folly to assume that Come By Me contains his favorite songs; the pool of standards is deep, and he feels free to dip into it at will.

"These are just tunes that I thought of that day, when I was thinking about going into the studio," he said. "Then I just came up for arrangements for 'em."

Easier said than done, but Connick isn't one to brag about his skills or delve too deeply into the underpinnings of his career. In fact, he often prefers to throw the spotlight on the players in his band when he's performing.

"My name is already on the marquee; how much more do you need?" Connick asked.

He'll likely praise the 16 members of his Big Band to the hilt Saturday, when they stop at the BJCC Concert Hall for an 8 pm concert. Connick certainly threw lavish bouqets at his team the last time he played here, in February 1998.

"I would like it if people came up to me and said, 'Man, you were OK, but that trumpet player was great,'" Connick said.

He's talking about Leroy Jones, an important part of the ensemble who can be heard on several Connick albums, including Come By Me. Jones was one of seven musicians in the combo Connick traveled with last year, on a tour to promote his romantically-inclined CD, To See You.

"If you're talking about solos, Leroy is the only guy who knows how to pick them out of the sky," Connick said from the stage in '98. "I learn from him and steal his stuff."

Yet most listeners thought Connick owed the greatest debt to Frank Sinatra when he zoomed onto the public radar in the mid-'80s.

Seated at his piano in smoky New York clubs, the young crooner had a velvety vocal style and a ring-a-ding-ding demeanor similar to that of Ol' Blue Eyes in his prime.

"He had a sound that no one else had in popular music at that time," said Sarah Ma, a fan from Riverside, Calif., who supervises a linked cluster of Internet sites about Connick on the World Wide Web. "He was able to actually bring to the attention of everyone the wonderful sounds of jazz."

Over the past 15, however, Connick has carved out his own niche as a double-threat celebrity who handles a script as confidently as a sheet of music.

No one was surprised when he found time to write new numbers, record various styles, perform everywhere from Paris to Broadway and arrange an ever-growing list of the oldies he loves. But Connick confounded even his fans with his screen prowess in movies such as Little Man Tate, Copy Cat, Independence Day, Hope Floats, and the animated film Iron Giant.

"When I'm in a movie, I'm doing one role, and that's refreshing in a way," Connick said. "I can't do just one thing when it's music."

Evidently not; Connick added to his list of credits this spring by directing a video for "Come By Me" in his hometown of New Orleans. He also acted in the project, which was shot in the city's picturesque French Quarter and Garden District.

Connick's love o jazz certainly springs from his New Orleans background; he honed his craft early on in French Quarter clubs and at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

But he made goofy use of his Southern roots last year during the Birmingham concert, gleefully relating a fondness for Yoo-Hoo, Moon Pies and fried pork rinds.

"I'm just white trash in a suit," Connick said. "I watch Jerry Springer just like y'all do."

When asked about his Springer mania, Connick admitted that he exaggerated his trailer-park tendencies a little, to make the audience laugh. But there's no fooling around where his music is concerned; Connick said he takes showtime very seriously.

"Up until 7:59, I could be sound asleep, but I definitely warmp up fast when 8 o'clock comes," he said. "I'm a jazz performer, that's first. Something happens when you go on stage...You know, you just start dealing with it."