Norah Jones has exceeded her own dreams with her instantly popular debut Come Away With Me, an effortless mix of contemporary jazz, folk and country music.
Norah took on a larger role in composing her follow-up album Feels Like Home. Additionally, she collaborated on Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s 2011 debut album as well.
Geetali Norah Jones Shankar
Geetali Norah Jones Shankar, daughter of concert promoter Sue Jones and sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, grew up in Dallas where her mother’s vast musical library inspired her musical tastes and she started taking piano lessons and singing at her church.
She earned nine Grammy awards, as well as being named Billboard’s Artist of the 2000s decade. Her 2020 release Pick Me Up Off the Floor marked her first with Deutsche Grammophon and featured collaborations with musicians like Rodrigo Amarante and Mavis Staples.
Born in New York City
Jones captivates audiences around the globe with her emotive vocals and captivating performances, captivating audiences on albums like The Fall (2009) as well as expanding her musical palette by including moody electric instrumentation with elements of rock and soul on Little Broken Hearts (2012).
She possesses an acute appreciation of subtlety, understanding that a low-key voice stripped down to its essence delivers greater impact than one which screams its message at top volume. When touring with her band, she prefers performing in theaters over arenas; often working alongside bassist Lee Alexander and drummer Dan Rieser as her backing musicians.
Parents: Ravi Shankar and Sue Jones
Norah Jones was raised with Ravi Shankar, an internationally acclaimed sitar player, and Sue Jones, an American concert producer. Norah’s unique upbringing between both cultures has left an indelible mark on both her music and views on cultural identity.
Norah hails from Grapevine, Texas where she attended Colleyville Middle School and Grapevine High School before transferring to Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where she took piano, vocal, and alto saxophone lessons as well.
Education: Grapevine High School
Jones began performing jazz standards at local restaurants after enrolling at the University of North Texas. Her talent earned praise from jazz magazine Down Beat and she made a demo recording that eventually led to the creation of her debut album First Sessions.
Come Away With Me was released to console a nation reeling from 9/11 events. Since then she has broadened her scope, working with artists such as Gnarls Barkley and the Black Keys before producing Little Broken Hearts; an album that takes a different tack than her earlier works with its jazz-influenced sound.
Music: Singing in the church choir
Norah Jones is an iconoclastic musician whose musical career is rarely acknowledged in mainstream circles. Her 2002 debut, Come Away With Me, combined jazz, folk and country styles seamlessly.
She attended the University of North Texas to study jazz piano and performed with local groups such as Wax Poetic. Later that same year she relocated to Manhattan where she met Jesse Harris and Lee Alexander – fellow musicians whom she eventually collaborated with as musicians.
Musical influences: Etta James
Norah Jones attributes much of her musical success and success in building her career to her parents’ encouragement and love; their unflagging support enabled her to blend music from around the globe into her sound.
After dabbling in pop and folk music, Norah returned to jazz piano through her latest release Day Breaks. She performs vocals and Wurlitzer electric piano alongside an ensemble of New York musicians that includes bassist Lee Alexander and drummer Dan Rieser.
Career
Norah Jones first burst onto the global stage in 2002 with her Grammy-awarding, multi-platinum debut album Come Away With Me. Since then, Norah’s creative spirit has driven successive releases that seamlessly combined mellow acoustic pop with jazz and soul influences.
Norah returns with her 2021 release Visions with new funk and psychedelic twists, taking on more of a signature sound than before. Notable films in which Norah has appeared include Wong Kar-wai’s My Blueberry Nights alongside Jude Law and Natalie Portman in 2007.
Little Broken Hearts
Little Broken Hearts marks an exciting departure from Jones’s typical comfort zone, in which she revisits her own experience to offer guidance and comfort to others going through similar situations.
No matter the subtle changes brought on by producer Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), Norah Jones’ identity remains intact throughout her album. She offers sweet yet icy singer-songwriter pop, cooing playfully or venting her righteous indignation with equal ease.
Burton’s sense of restraint keeps this approach from overshadowing Jones or becoming too overwhelming on slower songs.