Jazz Music Star Norah Jones
Norah Jones quickly made her mark following the release of her debut album Come Away With Me and received two Grammy awards. Both Feels Like Home and Sunrise became instantaneous hits for Norah.
In 2006 she formed the Little Willies with Lee Alexander, Richard Julian, Dan Rieser and Jim Campilongo to share their passion for classic country. They released two albums: one entitled Little Willies in 2006 and the other For the Good Times two years later.
Multi-GRAMMY winner Norah Jones loves creating music together. On her podcast Norah Jones Is Playing Along she sits down with various guests for spontaneous musical collaborations and candid conversation.
Her Life
Norah Jones has proven her potential beyond expectations with music that has reached far beyond her initial goals and expectations.
Come Away With Me was released to critical acclaim and sold millions of copies when released in 2002. It showcased Jones’ quietly seductive voice accompanied by intimate, jazz-influenced acoustics.
Jones began collaborating with artists from different genres after the release of Feels Like Home (2004), such as Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane on a song for Ted, and appearing in an episode of HBO series True Blood.
Jones released her third album, The Fall (2009), exploring her feelings after experiencing heartbreak while broadening her musical palette with moody electric instrumentation. For 2012’s Little Broken Hearts she collaborated with pop producer Danger Mouse (real name Brian Burton). With Day Breaks (2016) she returned to the jazz-inflected sound that defined her debut.
Her Music
Norah Jones rose to stardom at age 23 with the release of her 2002 debut album Come Away With Me. This mellow acoustic mix of jazz, folk and adult contemporary music won multiple genre-spanning Grammy awards including album, record and song of the year awards as well as best new artist status for Norah herself as well as producer Arif Mardin and songwriter Jesse Harris being recognized with Grammy awards for their contributions on Come Away With Me.
Since The Fall, her releases have covered an array of themes and styles: from heartbreak-themed The Fall to moody electric instrumentation on Day Breaks and Little Broken Hearts, exploring rock and roll on her collaboration with pop producer Danger Mouse as well as returning to jazz roots with Begin Again.
She has performed intimate and critically acclaimed Tiny Desk concerts for NPR and often collaborates with various musicians to produce collaborative albums. For Visions, she collaborated with Leon Michels of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings fame to produce a funky garage soul record that showcases her signature vocals over fuzzy guitars, off-kilter drums, and vintage keyboards – creating what Leon Michels refers to as his signature sound – of which there were five tracks on it.
Her Personal Life
Jones first rose to prominence in 2002 with her jazz and R&B album Come Away With Me. Released as part of Sue Jones Concert Productions and Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s concert tour of Texas following 9/11 events, it provided comforting music during an otherwise turbulent time. Raised in Grapevine Texas where her parents ran concert production businesses; later attending Booker T Washington High School for the Performing Arts before majoring in jazz piano at University of North Texas.
Feels Like Home (2004) became her second album to sell a million copies within its first week of release and marked the first time Jones would also play guitar as well as piano.
Since that time, Jones has collaborated with an array of artists from Mavis Staples to Rodrigo Amarante to the Foo Fighters and Outkast. Most recently she recorded two albums with alternative country band Puss N Boots as well as appearing in a movie starring Seth MacFarlane and Billie Joe Armstrong. On her seventh long-player, Little Broken Hearts (2012) she took inspiration from dark breakup themes while exploring electric instrumentation to craft moody sounds that resonate throughout its compositions.
Her Career
Norah Jones is one of the world’s premier musicians, known for her inimitable vocal range and creative energy. Always on the edge, Norah embraces new artistic paths without abandoning her timeless songs or risking losing their classic appeal.
She has worked with various musicians, such as Ryan Adams and Charlie Hunter. Additionally, she has taken up acting, making her film debut in Wong Kar-Wai’s 2007 flick My Blueberry Nights.
Her career soared following the release of her 2002 debut album, Come Away with Me, garnering both critical and commercial acclaim for its blend of jazz and other genres. 2004’s Feels Like Home further cemented her reputation as an incredible artist.
Norah continues to release albums that showcase her talents for songwriting, production and working across genres. Her push of boundaries has ensured her place as one of the beloved singers among a diverse audience; Norah even collaborated with Foo Fighter Dave Grohl on “Virginia Moon”, featured on his 2005 album In Your Honor.