Norah Jones has earned multiple GRAMMYs since beginning her career with 2002’s critically and commercially successful Come Away With Me album.
Visions is her latest record and was co-written and produced by Leon Michels – known for his collaborations with Dan Auerbach and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Born in Brooklyn
Born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar in Dallas before moving back to New York City as an adult, Jones has an unorthodox style which draws from both her past and current environments while remaining completely personal and idiosyncratic. Her debut album Come Away With Me won eight Grammy awards and remains one of the best-selling jazz albums ever released.
Feels Like Home, her sophomore album, took a different route; heavily influenced by country music. The record made its debut at number one, giving many hope that her previous effort wasn’t an isolated incident.
Norah has always made her music accessible to listeners across all demographics, becoming a household name and inspiring other performers who follow in her footsteps. Additionally, she serves as honorary chairman of Save Fry Street and on the board of Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Raised in Texas
Norah Jones began performing regularly after leaving University of North Texas to relocate to New York City and form her band in 1999, quickly making waves both commercially and critically. Her debut album Come Away With Me achieved critical acclaim upon its release in 2002.
Album of the Year and Best New Artist Grammy awards followed, leading her to record Feels Like Home (2004) and The Fall (2009) with electric instrumentation that hinted at rock and soul influences.
Norah has long defied expectations and genre classification, working with artists as diverse as Foo Fighters, Willie Nelson, Outkast and Ryan Adams. Her latest album Day Breaks marks a return to jazz roots while further solidifying her as the quintessential American artist for our time – it features elements of jazz, folk rock and pop in one seamless work of genius.
Born to a musical family
Norah Jones arrived in New York City as an ambitious jazz pianist with the goal of playing jazz piano. After one year playing folk coffeehouses and jazz clubs, she recorded demos that ultimately attracted Blue Note Records to sign her on.
Norah showcased her musical roots on her debut album, Come Away With Me. Her blend of jazz, country, soul and folk was reminiscent of legendary performers Billie Holiday and Etta James; touching listeners worldwide.
Norah expanded her musical palette on her fourth album, Foreverly, by including moody electric instrumentation with elements of rock and soul music. On Day Breaks she returned to jazz-inflected sounds of her first two albums before The National’s Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner joined Norah for an intimate performance alongside bass player Cat Popper, known for touring with Ryan Adams, Grace Potter and Jack White; Cat will perform some elegant originals as well as duets with Norah during this intimate evening performance!
She’s always been restless
Norah Jones found herself restless musically by the end of the 2000s after producing several mellow piano-forward jazz albums which cemented her place as one of pop music’s premier singers. To expand her palette she released two breakup records; 2009’s The Fall and 2012’s Little Broken Hearts. Additionally she collaborated with new musicians such as Ray Charles (with whom she recorded full albums of duets) and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong; additionally she launched her podcast Norah Jones Is Playing Along which showcased candid conversations and spontaneous performances with various artists alike.
Norah Jones has taken another bold step with Visions, her ninth project. Her songs tap into a wide variety of emotions ranging from sampled bird calls to motivational lyrics on On My Way; yet still provide her signature brand of smooth crossover music. We speak with Norah about Visions and her desire to follow wherever her muse leads her; as well as Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey who’s modern jazz style has earned her both a GRAMMY nomination and millions of followers on TikTok.