Norah Jones first gained popularity with her release Come Away With Me in 2002. This album received critical acclaim for combining acoustic pop and jazz influences into one cohesive soundscape.
Norah hails from Texas and attended the renowned University of North Texas music programs before moving to New York City.
Born in Grapevine, Texas
Geetali Norah Jones Shankar was born in Manhattan but moved with her mother, concert producer Elizabeth Evans, when she was four. At five she began singing church choirs and taking piano lessons from an instructor in Grapevine; soon afterward she took up playing saxophone in school band as well. Although her father Ravi Shankar, an acclaimed sitar player, would frequently visit them both, they rarely saw each other until Geetali turned 18.
Jones moved from Texas to New York City in 1999 and worked as a lounge singer before forming her own group with Jessie Harris in 2001, eventually signing with Blue Note, the legendary jazz label.
Her soothing vocal production has long soothed fans’ souls, garnering her numerous Grammy awards. She released albums such as Come Away With Me, Not Too Late, The Fall, Little Broken Hearts and Day Breaks; more recently in 2020 her latest record Pick Me Up Off The Floor featuring collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Rodrigo Amarante and Thomas Bartlett was also released.
Raised in Dallas
She began singing church choirs at five, began piano lessons two years later, and picked up alto saxophone in junior high school. Later attending Interlochen Arts Camp and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas to develop her skills further and gain recognition by jazz magazine Down Beat, she ultimately went on to earn several accolades from both institutions.
Her debut album, Come Away With Me (2002), which she describes as an introspective little record, introduced her to the world and won three Grammys in 2003: Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
Feels Like Home (2004) was heavily influenced by country music, topping Billboard charts. She continued experimenting on her subsequent albums like The Fall (2009) and Day Breaks (2016) with darker textures, working with producers such as Danger Mouse and Craig Street as well as singing duets with Willie Nelson for “The Nearness of You”.
Moved to New York City
Norah Jones made her musical debut with Come Away With Me in 2002 and immediately stood out from other pop musicians with its subdued approach and restrained sensibility, distinguishing itself from electronica’s flash and vocal gymnastics that characterised much of pop music at that time. Her voice resembled something out of another dimension with jazz syncopations and gentle guitar strumming blending seamlessly together in her soundscape.
Her reserved nature proved to be her greatest strength as her second album, Feels Like Home (2004) shifted gears and sold over four million copies. Since then, Jones has released numerous albums both solo and with countryish side project Little Willies.
Jones has found success and not stardom through her recordings: Feels Like Home, Not Too Late, The Fall and Little Broken Hearts produced by Danger Mouse (Brian Burton). Jones explored moody electric instrumentation while expanding her musical palette with rock and soul influences. She has always sought success without necessarily seeking stardom.
Signed to Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records has long been home to some of jazz’s finest artists such as Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderley and Sonny Rollins. More recently Norah Jones joined this distinguished list with her 2002 debut Come Away With Me release as well as Feels Like Home and Not Too Late albums released subsequent years.
She made an unforgettable debut, which garnered five Grammy awards. Since then she has released albums to critical and commercial acclaim; even appearing alongside Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane for the movie Ted.
Blue Note Records was unaware of Norah’s musical direction when they signed her to their label, so studio decided to record a set of demos with her band and record an album called First Sessions with both covers and original material as Norah explored her options with music. Producer Craig Street took Norah and her band upstate New York Allaire Studios for this recording session.