Norah Jones is a multi-GRAMMY winning singer and pianist, and loves making music with other people. In this podcast she hosts musical collaborations as well as candid conversations.
Jones attended the University of North Texas to major in jazz piano. It was there she met her future bandmate Jesse Harris.
Born in New York City
Norah Jones made headlines and earned five Grammy Awards with her soothing acoustic piano-pop debut album, Come Away With Me. Since then she has continued to receive critical acclaim and award wins for albums like Feels Like Home (2004) – which explores broken relationships.
Geetali Norah Shankar was raised by her mother Sue Jones in Dallas suburb. She studied music at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts as well as University of North Texas Jazz Singers where she sang as part of their ensembles.
Raised in Dallas
Jones grew up in Dallas, where her mother’s record collection featuring Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and other jazz greats provided early influence and she went on to win several student music awards from Down Beat magazine.
Come Away With Me made its debut on the Billboard charts and was met with critical acclaim, earning her wide praise. Following that album came The Fall (2009) which focused on an unsuccessful relationship, followed by Little Broken Hearts (2012) produced by Danger Mouse (real name Brian Burton), before she released Day Breaks the following year.
Debut album Come Away With Me (2001)
Norah Jones made her debut with Blue Note Records’s Come Away With Me album (February 2002), performing Great American Songbook standards like “The Nearness of You” and Hank Williams’ country classics such as “Cold Cold Heart.” With her signature voice, Norah gave these timeless tracks their original charm while remaining intimate yet effortless.
Produced by Arif Mardin, Norah’s album mesmerized listeners and put her among established female vocalists such as Aretha Franklin. The record won three Grammys including Album of the Year; its single “Don’t Know Why” reached number two on Billboard Hot 100 charts.
The Fall (2009)
Jones collaborated with her half-sister Anoushka Shankar on this album. Together they recorded songs while touring for Jones’ latest project Visions.
The Fall Guy seeks to challenge Hollywood’s recent trend of producing CGI-laden, humorless blockbusters; reminding audiences that stunts matter just as much.
Ryan Gosling gives an extremely charismatic performance as Colt Seavers in this action-packed thriller film featuring car chases, fist fights and even some fire-breathing!
Feel Like Home (2004)
Jones had great success with her last release, Come Away With Me, earning multi-platinum status and six Grammy awards. While many expected her successor Feels Like Home to be underwhelming, it proved an unexpected hit instead.
Arif Mardin once again showed his mastery as producer-arranger by creating a sound that blended light jazz with American genres such as country, folk and Americana – producing-arranging Arif Mardin did an outstanding job of orchestration and arrangements for this showpiece.
As part of her album release, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Daru Oda of The Band joined her band of musicians on this project.
Not Too Late (2007)
Norah Jones continues to write timeless lullabies since her Grammy award-winning album Come Away With Me won in 2002, featuring her soothing voice backed by sparse acoustics that keep her sounding authentic rather than overproduced.
Feels Like Home (2004) and The Fall (2009) further solidified her popularity, yet reports surfaced of artistic limitations.
She experimented with her sound on an ambitious Tritych of 2012’s Little Broken Hearts, Danger Mouse collaborations, and cameo appearance in Seth MacFarlane’s Ted (2012) feature film.
Day Breaks (2016)
Since her 2002 breakthrough debut, Norah Jones has navigated between artistry and celebrity with ease. Her acoustic ballads quickly earned her widespread acclaim; over time she ventured further afield into honky-tonk country music and low-gloss pop with albums like Feels Like Home and Little Broken Hearts.
Jones returns to jazz without treading in familiar territory on Day Breaks, her sixth studio album and 9-time Grammy award-winner. Working alongside experts such as saxophonist Wayne Shorter and organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jones proves she still possesses her ear for unexpected chord progressions or freer phrasing – two skills which helped earn her 9 Grammy awards!
Pick Me Up Off the Floor (2020)
Jones’ 2020 album Pick Me Up Off the Floor breaks free from genre constraints to highlight her exceptional voice and emotive songwriting, turning existential dread and heartbreak pains into moments of personal solace and empowerment.
She collaborated with producer Danger Mouse to add an engaging edge to songs rooted in country, folk, Americana and modern light jazz. Co-written with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, “I’m Alive” uses an anonymous female as a symbolic representation for women everywhere.