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Contrary to most performers, Leon Redbone is more myth than man.

Little is known about his upbringing, his age, his real name or how he even became interested in music. Redbone just seems to be a fixture in pop culture ? and one who happens to craft great albums when he gets around to it.

This week, the singer/acoustic guitarist will release his 11th record, "AnyTime," breaking a seven-year hiatus from the studio. Flanked by clarinets, banjos and trombones, Redbone unearths 13 ditties that immediately conjure images of flappers and gramophones, speakeasies and vaudevillians. Whether leniently crooning "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," deadpanning the hilarious "Your Feet's Too Big" (a previously unreleased gem that was used as the title song to TV's "Harry and the Hendersons") or sweetly whistling the melody of "If You Knew," Redbone most definitely moves at a pace far removed from the cell phone/e-mail era.

Since making his network debut on "Saturday Night Live" in 1976 while riding on the success of his first gold record "On the Track," Redbone has managed to foster a persona as gatekeeper for a bygone era of American music. Though his iconic guise of fedora, jacket and sunglasses has been thoroughly satirized (anybody remember the "Leon Redbone workout" Far Side cartoon?), it's easy to overlook what a genuinely gifted musician and performer he remains ? a role he inevitably tries to downplay.

"In some ways I've always been complacent in my approach (to music)," he says. "So in some ways maybe I'm the pure definition of consistent."

From his home in Pennsylvania, where it's easy to picture the guitarist lazily strumming on his front porch with nothing but rolling hills in sight, Redbone takes time to discuss some realities behind his legend.

Q: What's the best advice you've received about playing music?

A: "I don't believe I've received any advice about playing music. I am essentially unapproachable in that regard. Maybe it's because I don't necessarily solicit that kind of advice. I'm sure when I get in the windbag phase that I've dispensed advice more than a few times. I have definite opinions on music, and they're not necessarily reflected on any popular sense. Although, I like to think that they're consistent with good taste."

Q: The first time we spoke (in '98), you mentioned that you were more of an entertainer than a musician. Do you work at developing your musical skills or do they just come naturally?

A: "There's no hope in that department I'm afraid. Most of what I do doesn't really depend on versatility, as far as playing an instrument. For me, it is what it is. Sometimes I surprise myself, and sometimes I'm sort of disappointed with the whole thing."

Q: Is there a track on "AnyTime" that you find particularly notable or outstanding?

A: "I tend to hear these things as a whole, and there's almost a picture created by some kind of mood. It's a very brittle thing. It's definitely not the type of thing you can play that is fluid. And that's one thing I will have to say that defines what I do: What I do is not fluid. It's not something you can actually turn up in the background and have it just sort of blend into an atmosphere. It's not homogenized. It has rough edges on it, and that's partly what I like. But from the standpoint of hearing these tunes in a not-so-friendly atmosphere, I think it doesn't really work. What I do and what I record, they only work for the moment."

Q: How do you go about achieving those "moments" when performing these songs live?

A: "I try to be as detached as possible. There are two ways of performing: One is to run out onstage and basically let loose and communicate with the audience on a personal level. The other one is to completely ignore the entire situation and try to concentrate on what it is you are doing, and at the same time not dwell on it. You have to get to some stage where you are lifted away from your surroundings ? which is contrary to performing, really. So I don't know if performing is necessarily a good definition for what I do. It may be closer to a sé¡®ce than anything else."

Q: What's the secret to an effective whistle?

A: "Some people would say not to sound irritating. Because a whistle can be a very irritating thing ? to the listener, maybe not so much for the one who's whistling. I like the sound of it. I know that some people find it distracting."

Q: Do you think you improve with each new record?

A: "Hopefully, I do improve in one way or another. There are always many disappointments. One of the main disappointments is that it's very difficult to control what you hear and how you hear it on tape ? because it takes so long, and it's so exhausting. You try and get to that point, but in most cases you give up, because you come to a compromise. The art of recording, as much as it has progressed over the years, hasn't actually improved much. I still maintain that most of the great sounds captured come from the 1920s and a little later, but certainly not recently."

Q: As a musician, what's the worst thing that's ever been said about you?

A: "I think with the first few records, some had dubbed what I did as camp. Of course, these were insensitive people who didn't understand the 'depth of my artistic passion.' No doubt it came across that way to many people ? but nobody's saying that lately. It does seem more 'real' now, which is bizarre because it is even further removed from the source."