Holly Cole may be selling more records than ever before, but she's no sellout.

The bewitchingly beautiful brunette, with her haunting lush voice, has been touring in support of her latest album, Dark Dear Heart, a record she says is not only selling more than any of her previous releases, but getting noticeable airplay stateside.

Although her latest of six albums is probably her most accessible, Cole -- known for her sultry jazz stylings -- says she wasn't looking to make a pop record.

"I just sort of go from record to record. I don't have a grand master plan for my career.... I don't set those kind of goals. I just basically go from record to record as I grow as an artist," explains Cole, who performs Sunday at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.

Her early jazz-vocal albums were recorded with pianist Aaron Davis and bassist David Piltch her only accompanists. On Dark Dear Heart, Cole works with a larger group of musicians, but denies it's a move to mainstream her sound.

"I was looking for something different.... My music was never pure jazz anyway. It was always influenced by different styles of music. I really wanted to change and I really wanted to go a step further into the pop direction and do an album that was a little more produced."

Cole's desire for a more opulent sound was realized by enlisting producer Larry Klein, who is well known for his studio prowess with such artists as Shawn Colvin and his ex-wife, Joni Mitchell.

Curiously, Mitchell's song River -- from her landmark album, Blue -- appears on Cole's latest album.

"I knew I wanted to do that song before I even had a producer in mind.... When it turned out to be Larry producing the record, he just said: 'I can't believe you're doing River.' They were divorcing at the time, so it was kind of funny and ironic," says Cole.

River is just another of Cole's brave reinterpretations. Dark Dear Heart -- like her early releases -- features a broad range of writers, including Mary Margaret O'Hara, Lennon-McCartney and Sheryl Crow.

Cole says she prefers arranging and performing to writing.

"I'm not really a writer," she admits.

"I don't have a burning desire to write like many artists do. I don't really consider myself a writer; it's really not my creative outlet. I have written some... and I may write a song that will go on a record of mine in the future.

"But I refuse to put a song on a record simply because I wrote it. I'm just very choosy about the material I do."