TORONTO -- Jazz singer Alex Pangman might not be a Juno nominee this year if it wasn't for her second chance at a new set of lungs.

Pangman says it was a double lung transplant -- and a New Orleans vacation to celebrate them -- that sparked inspiration for "New," a collection of Depression-era traditionals that's up for vocal jazz album.

"This was a whole transplant," says Pangman about the recording of her sixth studio album, which will take her to the Canadian awards event this weekend in Calgary.

"I was like, 'New lungs, New Orleans ... new producer -- let's have a theme: new."'

While the Mississauga, Ont.-native has plenty of reasons to celebrate now, her journey to the Junos was riddled with setbacks.

Born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder which directly affects the lungs, Pangman gasped her way through performances for years and often felt like she was drowning as she sang.

On more difficult days she would pull a chair on stage to ensure she made it through the performance.

"When I was first diagnosed I could breathe fairly well," says the 39-year-old singer.

"It wasn't until I was in my late 20s, or early 30s, that it had become quite laborious. But I already was in love with singing."

By 2008, Pangman's condition was serious enough to merit her first double lung transplant.

The operation appeared to be a success, at first, but complications from an infection caused her body to eventually reject the lungs. That forced her to undergo another double transplant.

"When I started (singing) I had this great, youthful joie de vivre. Life has kind of tempered that," Pangman says.

"It has definitely made me, I think, a more interesting performer. I've become a better band leader and I've become a better musician."

She credits much of her renewed spirit to the donors who saved her life, and a little bit to the inspiration she found in New Orleans.

Pangman booked a trip to the Big Easy just a few months after her second transplant in the summer of 2013.

When she landed in the legendary city it took hardly any time before she decided to return to the studio. Talking with local musicians and producers, she laid plans to make a return trip a few months later.

"I (grabbed) my suitcase and took up with a new side band," she says. "It was like we were pressing record on a first date."

Scattered on "New" are cover songs in the spirit of musical legends such as Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong, reflecting a tumultuous period when listeners were looking for an escape from the troubles of two world wars and the Great Depression.

Pangman says "Fit as a Fiddle," published in 1932, stands out as a meaningful track for its uplifting lyrics. Other favourites on the album include "I'll Never Smile Again," originally sung by Tommy Dorsey and written by Canadian pianist Ruth Lowe.

"A lot of those songs helped people through rough times," she says.

"Music to me is the same thing. I've gone through some (tough) stuff, with not knowing if I was going to be alive, so it's been my medicine too."