[9] Krall won a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied from 1981 to 1983,[10] before spending time in Los Angeles to play jazz.

Her third album, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio (1996), was nominated for a Grammy and continued for 70 weeks in the Billboard jazz charts.

Love Scenes (1997) quickly became a hit record with the trio of Krall, Russell Malone (guitar), and Christian McBride (bass).

In August 2000, Krall partnered with Tony Bennett for a 20-city tour, and in 2008–09 they worked together again for a song on the TV series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... Orchestral arrangements by Johnny Mandel provided the background for her fifth studio album When I Look in Your Eyes (1999), her first released through Verve Records.

The band mix was kept, following arrangements on The Look of Love (2001) created by Claus Ogerman; this record achieved platinum status and reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

The title track from the album, a cover of the Casino Royale standard popularized in the late 1960s by Dusty Springfield and Sérgio Mendes, reached number 22 on the adult contemporary chart.

The 2001 movie The Score (US and Germany), starring [Robert De Niro]] and Marlon Brando, featured a recording of Krall's entitled: "I'll Make It Up As I Go."

[12] After marrying English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello in 2003, Krall worked with him as a lyricist and began to compose her own songs, resulting in the album The Girl in the Other Room.

Her next, Wallflower, released on February 3, 2015, by Verve Records[18] and produced by David Foster,[19] tackled more recent composers including the Eagles (two songs), Elton John and Bernie Taupin ("Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"), 10cc ("I'm Not in Love"), Neil Finn ("Don't Dream It's Over"), and Gilbert O'Sullivan ("Alone Again (Naturally)").

[25] The album's dozen tracks were selected from over 30 unused recordings previously laid down by Krall with her longtime producer Tommy LiPuma before his death in 2017.