Norah Jones

Norah Jones
Norah Jones playing at the Blaisdell Arena, Hawaii (23 April 2005)
Background information
Birth name	Geethali Norah Jones Shankar
Born	March 30, 1979 (1979-03-30) (age 30) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genre(s)	Vocal jazz Pop Smooth jazz Folk Pop-country Pop Rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, actress
Instrument(s)	Singing, piano/keyboards, guitar
Years active	2001–present
Label(s)	Blue Note
Website	www.norahjones.com

Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar on March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, and occasional actress of Anglo-American and Indian-Bengali descent. She is the daughter of famed sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar and half-sister of sitarist Anoushka Shankar.^[1]

Jones' career was launched with her 2002 debut album Come Away with Me, an adult contemporary pop/vocal jazz album with a sensual, plaintive soul/folk/country tinge, that sold over 22.5 million copies worldwide and received five Grammy Awards, with Jones winning "Best New Artist". Her second album, Feels like Home, was released in 2004. In 2007, she released her third album, Not Too Late. She has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade, racking up sales of more than 16 million records in the US^[2] and 36 million records worldwide.

Early life

Born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar in Brooklyn, New York, she officially changed her name to Norah Jones at the age of sixteen with the blessings of her parents.

Jones is the daughter of the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and Sue Jones. Jones spent her childhood with her mother, who moved to the Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, when Jones was four. She attended Colleyville Middle School, followed by a short period at Grapevine High School before transferring to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. Her only formal vocal training was her stint in the choir at Colleyville and Booker T. Washington. While at Colleyville, she also participated in band and played the alto saxophone.

Jones always had an affinity for the music of Bill Evans and Billie Holiday, among other 'oldies.' She once said, "My mom had this eight-album Billie Holiday set, I picked out one disc that I liked and played that over and over again." She considers Willie Nelson her mentor.

Jones began singing in church choirs and took piano lessons as a child. She attended Interlochen Arts Camp during the summers. While at high school, she won the DownBeat Student Music Awards for Best Jazz Vocalist (twice, in 1996 and 1997) and Best Original Composition (1996).^[3]

Jones matriculated to the University of North Texas, where she majored in jazz piano. Classmates included American Idol finalist Brandon Rogers and singer-songwriter David Angerstein. In 1999, after two years of struggling in the program, Jones left for New York City. Jones was romantically involved with bassist Lee Alexander, though the two broke up in January 2008.^[4]

Musical career

Early days

Jones was a lounge singer before becoming a recording artist.^[5] She played with numerous artists and bands including Wax Poetic and the Peter Malick Group. She performed quite frequently with guitarist Charlie Hunter in 2001.

Debut album: Come Away with Me

Main article: Come Away with Me

Her debut album, Come Away with Me, debuted in February 2002 and was instantly celebrated for its blending of mellow, acoustic pop with soul and jazz. It hit number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, with the single "Don't Know Why" hitting number one on the Top 40 Adult Recurrents in 2003 and #30 in the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. It won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. She made a cameo appearance in the 2002 movie Two Weeks Notice playing the piano and singing "The Nearness of You" at the fundraiser.

Second album: Feels like Home

Main article: Feels like Home

Her second album, Feels like Home, was released on February 9, 2004. Rather than repeat the softer, jazz mood of Come Away with Me, her second album was influenced by Country music. Within a week of its release, Feels like Home had sold over a million copies, making it the highest-selling album in the history of Blue Note Records. Jones toured globally again, to promote the album with the Handsome Band, and the addition of backing singer Daru Oda. Time magazine included Jones on the Time 100, a list of the most influential people of 2004.^[6] "Feels Like Home" debuted at number-one in most countries around the world and has sold over 13 million copies.

Third album: Not Too Late

Main article: Not Too Late

Her third album, Not Too Late, was released by Blue Note Records on January 30, 2007. The album is Jones's first for which she wrote or co-wrote every song, and according to her, some of them are much darker than those on her previous albums.^[7] Not Too Late was mostly recorded at Jones's home studio and is the first album Jones recorded without producer Arif Mardin, who died in the summer of 2006. Jones described the sessions as "fun, relaxed and easy" and without a deadline; executives at Blue Note Records reportedly did not know they were recording an album. The song "My Dear Country" is a political satire; she wrote it before the United States Presidential election day in 2004.

Not Too Late reached the #1 position in twenty countries. It is the third best first week album sales of 2007 after Avril Lavigne's third album The Best Damn Thing and Linkin Park's third album Minutes to Midnight. The album became the 800th album to reach the top spot on the UK chart. It also reached #1 in the U.S. with 405,000 copies sold. According to a press release from EMI, Not Too Late is certified gold or platinum in twenty-one countries as of February 2007.^[8] The album has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

Tours

Jones performing at London's Hammersmith Apollo on April 23, 2003.

Throughout 2002 and 2003 Jones appeared on stages, globally, for her first tour with the Handsome Band, travelling throughout Asia, America, Europe and Oceania. The tour was received with numerous sell-out concerts and positive critical acclaim.

Jones began a United States concert tour to promote her third album, Not Too Late, on April 13, 2007, and ending with a free concert in New York City on July 6, 2007. Pre-sales of tickets to the shows were made available to her fan club members, and many sold out well before the performance date. She began her European tour on July 9, 2007 in Paris, and finished with a concert in London on August 27, 2007, in Sopot on August 31 and in Reykjavík, Iceland on September 2, 2007.^[9]

While playing with the Handsome Band, Jones & co. are known to play several known hits from her albums, modified for stage performance with guitar solos and additional percussion. Additionally, shows may also feature several covers of country, jazz, blues, or folk songs, ranging from the ubiquitous to the obscure. Artists covered have included, among others, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Randy Newman, Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, and Tom Waits.

Jones is working with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2007 summer tour.^[10] She also performed at Bryant Park on July 6 as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series.^[11]

On screen

Norah Jones's cameo in the 2002 movie Two Weeks Notice came just as her career was beginning to expand. The film shows her briefly at the piano, singing for a charity benefit.

In the latter part of 2003, rumors emerged that veteran Indian filmmaker Dev Anand was planning to make the film Song of Life, inspired by Jones's troubled relationship with her father, Ravi Shankar. Both Jones and Shankar were enraged by the rumors. Jones commented, "[Anand] has no idea of our story, and he's not going to represent it in a truthful way, I'm sure. It's sad because it's personal stuff and nobody's business but ours."

Jones appeared in the 2004 special Sesame Street Presents: The Street We Live On.^[12] Jones changed the lyrics to her famous song "Don't Know Why" to read "Don't know why Y didn't come," thereby introducing the letter Y to the young audience.

In February 2006, Screen International reported that Jones would make her acting debut as the protagonist of a film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film, My Blueberry Nights, was the opening film for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival as one of the 22 films in competition. She starred in the film opposite Jude Law. Natalie Portman was another co-star. My Blueberry Nights is a love story that takes place in Brooklyn. Jones also wrote a song for the movie.

In January 2007, Jones recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road. The episode, on which John Mayer and Richard Ashcroft also appeared, was aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 in March 2007 and in the USA on the Sundance Channel in June 2007.

She has appeared twice on the PBS series Austin City Limits, first on November 2, 2002 and most recently on October 6, 2007. The latter appearance was the season opener for the long-running series.

Collaborations

Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra

Jones sings on track 2 - "In The Dark" - on Holland's 2002 album "More Friends - Small World Big Band, Vol. 2."

Willie Nelson

Jones sings on track 9 - "Dreams Come True" - on Nelson's 2004 album "It Always Will Be." Jones sings "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want To Get Over You)" - on Nelson's 2005 DVD "Willie Nelson and Friends - Live & Kickin'."

Dayna Kurtz

Jones sings on track 9 - "I Got it Bad and That Ain't Good" - on Kurtz's 2004 album "Beautiful Yesterday."

Jim Campilongo

Jones sings on tracks 3 and 7 - "Sweet Dreams" and "Stella" - on Campilongo's 2003 album "American Hips." Jones sings on track 11 - "Cry me a River" - on Campilongo's 2006 album "Heaven is Creepy."

Noam Weinstein

Jones sings on track 5 - "I Could Lie to You" - on Weinstein's 2002 album "Above the Music."

Tim Ries

Jones sings on track 5 - "Wild Horses" - on Ries' 2005 album "The Rolling Stones Project."

Liberation Prophecy

Jones sings on track 3 - "Lonely Lament" - on Liberation Prophecy's 2006 album "Last Exit Angel" Incidentally, Liberation Prophecy is the group where multi-Grammy winner Norah Jones had her beginnings.

Charlie Hunter Quartet

Jones sings on two tracks - "More than This" and "Day is Done" - on the 2001 album "Songs from the Analog Playground."

Dolly Parton

Parton sang with Jones "Creepin' In" on the "Feels Like Home" album. Jones sings "The Grass is Blue" on a 2003 tribute album to Parton, "Just Because I'm a Woman: The Songs of Dolly Parton."

Laszlo

Laszlo was formed in the late 1990s in Denton, Texas. The band rereleased the CD "Butterflies" in June 2007. This CD features Norah Jones on vocals, Jerome Covington on guitar, Aaron Crouch on keyboard, Marc Rogers on electric bass and Bill Campbell on drums.

The Peter Malick Group featuring Norah Jones

sang "Heart of Mine" written by Bob Dylan in the movie soundtrack for "Runaway Jury".^[13] The track is also found on their collaborative album, New York City.

The Little Willies

The Little Willies is a band formed in 2003. It features Jones on piano and vocals. The other members of the band are Richard Julian on vocals, Jim Campilongo on guitar, Lee Alexander on bass and Dan Rieser on percussion.

Ray Charles

Jones worked with Ray Charles on his 2004 album, "Genius Loves Company"

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jones sang Crazy Arms and Your Cheating Heart on the DVD Last Man Standing Live in 2006

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

Jones sang lead vocals with Ryan Adams in the song "Dear John" which is on the album "Jacksonville City Nights" by Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, released September 27th, 2005.

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom is an experimental collaboration album by Mike Patton released in 2006. Jones collaborated on the album, appearing on track 10 "Sucker".++

Rachel Loshak

Jones sings on track 2 - "Rita" on Loshak's 2006 album, "Peach Pony."

Dirty Dozen Brass Band

"Medicated Magic" released April 23, 2002. Norah provides a stunning vocal on "Ruler of My Heart".

El Madmo

On May 12, 2006; Jones (disguised in a blonde wig, heavy make-up, fishnets and short shorts) played guitar and sang vocals in the tongue-in-cheek punk band El Madmo.^[14] They opened for the band Pela. The band consists of "El" (Handsome Band's Daru Oda), "Maddie" (Norah Jones) and "Mo"(Handsome Band's Andrew Borger). Their debut record was released on Conor Oberst's Team Love Records on May 20, 2008.

Foo Fighters

Jones contributed to the Foo Fighters' 2005 album In Your Honor. She played piano and sang (together with Dave Grohl) on "Virginia Moon", an acoustic jazz track on the second disc of the album.

Outkast

Jones played the piano and sang for a track on Outkast's sixth album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below entitled "Take Off your Cool."^[15]

Wyclef Jean

Jones collaborated on the song "Any Other Day" with Wyclef Jean for the Hurricane Katrina benefit album Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now.^[16] Critics heralded the track "..her finest collaboration to date, Jones goes with Wyclef to areas neither has shown before..."

Talib Kweli

The collaboration is on Kweli's third solo album Ear Drum. She provided the hook for the Madlib-produced track "Soon The New Day".

Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale

On the album Breathing Under Water by her half-sister Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale (released 2007-08-28) she sings and plays the piano on the song "Easy".

The Hottest State - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Released August 7, 2007 - Hickory Records.

Norah sings and plays piano on the following tracks written by Jesse Harris for the soundtrack of the motion picture The Hottest State

Track 2: "Always Seem To Get Things Wrong" Norah Jones - piano (Performed by Willie Nelson).

Track 8: "Crooked Lines" Norah Jones - piano, backing vocals (Performed by M.Ward).

Track 9: "World Of Trouble" Norah Jones - vocals & piano (Performed by Norah Jones).

Herbie Hancock - River

The Joni Letters:On the album River: The Joni Letters by Herbie Hancock, (released September 25, 2007 on Verve), Norah sings on the opening track Court And Spark.

Various Artists -- Goin' Home

A Tribute To Fats Domino:Released September 25, 2007 - Vanguard On the tribute album to Fats Domino Norah sings "My Blue Heaven" in a quasi-jazzy style.

Various Artists -- Lonesome, On'ry and Mean - A Tribute to Waylon Jennings

Released in 2003, Jones sings ""Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want To Get Over You)."

Various Artists -- Remembering Patsy Cline

Released in 2003, Jones sings "Why Can't he Be You?"

Various Artists -- The War (The Soundtrack)

Released in 2007, Jones sings "American Anthem."

My Blueberry Nights - Music From The Motion Picture

Released April 1, 2008 - Blue Note Records^[9]

Track 1: "The Story" written and performed by Norah Jones (with Lee Alexander and Andrew Borger).

A slow, jazzy ballad featuring her moody vocals and piano.

Q-Tip

Jones is featured on the song "Life Is Better" of Q-Tip's 2008 album The Renaissance

Nick Drake

Jones performs a cover of Drake's song "Day is Done" from his album Five Leaves Left, on the single of River Man, also by Drake.

Discography

Main article: Norah Jones discography

• 2001: First Sessions
• 2002: Come Away with Me
• 2004: Feels like Home
• 2007: Not Too Late

Filmography

• 2007 - My Blueberry Nights .... Elizabeth
• 2002 - Two Weeks Notice .... Herself

Awards

Main article: List of Norah Jones awards

See also

• List of best-selling music artists
• Fry Street Fire- Norah Jones was a honorary Chairwoman of 'Save Fry Street'

References

External links

• Official website
• Norah Jones Music Archive
• Norah Jones Interview with Blender
• Norah Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Norah Jones Interview
• Come Away With Me Performance on GMA
• ABC Interview
• Norah Jones interview in Asiance Magazine
• "The State of Jazz Vocals Today" by Ted Gioia (Jazz.com)
• Norah Jones at NPR Music