Norah Jones
Norah Jones never wanted to become famous. The unassuming Brooklyn singer and pianist attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts – also attended by Erykah Badu and jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove – where she studied classical piano as an elective class, before opting not to make public details regarding her private life, such as dating Lee Alexander as musician Lee Alexander was her choice.
Born in New York City
Norah Jones launched her career with her 2002 album Come Away With Me, an eclectic blend of contemporary jazz, folk, and country music that earned five Grammy Awards and became an instant classic.
At the University of North Texas, Norah studied jazz piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers where she met Jesse Harris – whom she would later collaborate with on their film project. Once graduating, Norah moved to New York City.
Little Willies was her musical collective of talented friends that included Lee Alexander, Richard Julian and Dan Rieser. Additionally she performed on albums by Foo Fighters, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals as well as appearing on many others’ records.
Raised in Dallas
At sixteen, she made her public debut singing Billie Holiday’s I’ll Be Seeing You at an open-mike night at a Dallas coffeehouse. Later that year she graduated from Booker T Washington High School for the Performing Arts before enrolling at University of North Texas to study jazz piano.
Jones first album Come Away With Me was an enormous commercial success and opened up opportunities for performers with more traditional musical styles to join her on his Songs from the Analog Playground album; for instance she provided vocals for covers of Roxy Music’s More Than This and Nick Drake’s Day is Done from his Songs from the Analog Playground album.
Moved to New York City
Jones has established herself in an industry in which likeability often outshines talent. Her debut album, Come Away With Me, became an instant classic and propelled her to national attention.
Jones released her follow up album, Little Broken Hearts, produced by Brian Burton (also known as Danger Mouse). This emotional work expanded her musical palette with moody electric instrumentation, rock and soul elements.
Signed to Blue Note Records
Norah Jones released her major-label debut Come Away With Me in February 2002, featuring both jazz and pop influences with an acoustic trio featuring guitarist Jesse Harris and bassist Lee Alexander.
Lundvall signed Norah to Blue Note Records after hearing thirteen tracks she submitted, working with producer Arif Mardin at Sorcerer Sound while recruiting top musicians such as pianist Larry Goldings and drummer Jay Newland as sidemen.
Released her debut album Come Away With Me
Norah Jones first achieved global renown with 2002’s Come Away With Me, her “moody little record”. This masterpiece became an international phenomenon and took home several GRAMMYs that year.
On the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Norah released a super-deluxe edition featuring 22 unreleased tracks; these include original demos she submitted to Blue Note as well as full first session recordings.
Sharon Jones and Leon Michels of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings worked closely on Visions – their latest release and an enjoyable collaboration that won them nine GRAMMYs between them.
Released her second album Feels Like Home
After Come Away With Me, Jones continued her creative exploration without limitations or expectations. Her next release Feels Like Home earned her a Grammy nomination in the Best Female Pop Vocal Album category.
The album concludes on an emotionally satisfying note with the song ‘That’s Life’, featuring only vocals and piano but possessing an exquisite buildup within itself.
Jones later went on to record The Fall (2009), Little Broken Hearts (2012) and Day Breaks (2016) before releasing Begin Again in 2019, which includes songs that she recorded with collaborators.
Released her third album Not Too Late
Norah Jones’ third album, Not Too Late, shows her maturing as an artist; yet remains relatively similar to her previous works. However, her voice now falls somewhere between Madeleine Peyroux and Diane Krall’s earthy jazziness and Joanna Newsom’s quirky pop delicacy.
As she continues her album, there are subtle adjustments to her formula; for instance, on Sinkin’ Soon there is an intriguing combination of ragtime piano lines and pots-and-pans percussion which recall Tom Waits.
Released her fourth album Little Broken Hearts
Since releasing her ninth album Visions, Norah Jones has returned to her home studio with one goal in mind – unleash her creative side without restrictions or restrictions. This approach manifests in songs from Visions that evoke late night reflection and contemplation.
“That’s Life” captures this theme beautifully by depicting our everyday joys as moments to look back upon and find meaning from. A stunning performance by Maria that shows her ability to weave an entire narrative using only her voice and piano – stunning!
Released her ninth album Visions
Norah Jones excels at exploring the emotional depths of her music while simultaneously disguising them behind poetic lyrics and innovative musical textures; her ninth album Visions does just this.
Norah Jones clearly seems to be reveling in this release – her single “Running” vibrates with infectious joy.
Mac Wilson of FUV caught up with Norah at Barnes & Noble in Union Square to talk about her new record Visions as well as life as an artist.