Norah Jones first made her mark on music with the release of Come Away With Me in 2002 – an instant-classic album that combined jazz, folk and pop music for maximum impact and critical praise.
Visions, co-produced with Leon Michels of El Michels Affair and Dan Auerbach fame, traverses multiple genres from new-twang country multiverses to retro soul boulevards to R&B swank seamlessly.
Born in Texas
Jones attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, where she participated in choir singing and alto saxophone playing. Additionally, Jones briefly attended University of North Texas before leaving after two years.
Come Away With Me (2002) was Norah Jones’ debut release that proved her versatility across genres and generations of music, from jazz to pop and everything in between. Produced with legendary jazz producer Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson and Manhattan Transfer) and master arranger Arif Mardin – it received outstanding reviews as well as multiple Grammys!
Moved to New York City
As soon as Norah Jones arrived in New York City in 1999, she quickly made a name for herself as a jazz singer.
With her sophomore album Feels Like Home released in 2004, Norah began to experiment with her sound, exploring pop with moody electric instrumentation while remaining true to her jazz roots.
Since then, Norah has made her acting debut in Wong Kar-Wai’s 2007 film My Blueberry Nights and started numerous roots-inspired side projects, such as Little Willies and Puss n Boots. Additionally she has collaborated with artists like Logic, Robert Glasper and Ravi Shankar.
Signed with Blue Note Records
Norah Jones’ smoky contralto and signature piano stylings played an instrumental role in revitalizing Jazz. Her 2002 debut Come Away With Me received both critical and commercial acclaim upon its release.
Feels Like Home followed in 2004, featuring an ensemble of New York musicians including bassist Lee Alexander, drummer Dan Rieser and guitarist Jesse Harris.
Horace Silver’s timeless Jazz standard “Peace” is covered on this album and its simple but emotive melody blends piano chords with an atmospheric soprano sax solo to produce an emotive performance.
Released Come Away With Me in 2002
Come Away With Me may contain only one track that could be classified as jazz; however, the piano-driven album doesn’t follow that pattern strictly. Jones is supported by guitarist Jesse Harris and bassist Lee Alexander who co-wrote many songs on Come Away With Me.
Although its genre-defying sound was difficult to categorize, Norah sold over 27 million copies worldwide of her album despite this. Additionally, its lead single ‘Don’t Know Why’ won her three Grammy awards in 2003 – cementing its success and becoming her most successful album to date.
Released Feels Like Home in 2004
After the success of her debut album, Jones returned to the studio and recorded Feels Like Home. This time around she took an active part in songwriting – co-writing or co-authoring six out of the thirteen tracks featured on this release.
The result was an engaging album that transcended country and folk influences of Come Away With Me yet still managed to find favor with both critics and fans.
Released Not Too Late in 2007
After two multimillion-selling albums and eight Grammys, Norah Jones decided it was time to produce her own compositions on an album of her own compositions. NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg finds them pleasing yet subdued; an attractive blend of originals as well as classic covers has resulted.
Not Too Late proves she has more to offer than MOR or dinner jazz; her talent stands up against artists such as Madeleine Peyroux and Diane Krall. Her most effective songs include slow brooders like Wish I Could with its guitar arpeggios and cello harmonies.
Released The Fall in 2010
The Fall is an unexpected departure from Jones’s previous piano ballads; here, producer Jacquire King creates an atmospheric setting filled with clanging guitars and rhythmic grooves that has cemented her reputation.
The Fall is an outlandish visual feast and one of Tarsem’s wildest indulgences ever. He spent millions to craft this grand, overblown fantasy which pays off with both beautiful imagery and emotionally charged dramatisation.
Released Visions in 2015
Norah Jones’ unexpected success with an unconventional musical style has opened the door for performers utilizing similar sounds; Britain’s Jamie Cullum, for instance, has established an outstanding career playing old-time pop standards and jazz piano music.
Visions is a funky yet gently psychedelic garage-soul album produced by Leon Michels who played with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. This record features Jones’ soulful vocals among fuzzy guitars and off-kilter drums for an irresistibly fun listen.