Norah Jones has enjoyed an extraordinary musical journey. She has collaborated with Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong as well as recording country albums with her part-time band the Little Willies.
After graduating from the University of North Texas, she relocated to New York and went on to become one of the best-selling recording artists. Her debut album Come Away With Me won five Grammy Awards.
Born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar
Norah Jones may never have been known as a pop singer, but country music was always in her blood. From listening to her mother play LPs at home and tuning into radio stations to discovering it for herself on her own radio station dial, Norah was exposed to it at an early age.
Her debut, Come Away With Me, garnered both critical and commercial success upon release in 2002. Feels Like Home added more country elements while Not Too Late was more intimate.
Educated at Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas
Booker T, one of the nation’s premier arts magnet schools, should boast high student achievement; however, data collected by Dallas Independent School District shows that it primarily draws in students from wealthy, suburban ISDs.
Jones discovered her musical talent at a school that has long been recognized for cultivating artists – the Academy for Musical Education in Oakland (AMEO) is famous for producing talented alumni such as Badu. Additionally, the institution has produced other talent – for instance Britain’s Jamie Cullum is among its alumni.
Even with its impressive metrics, this school is struggling with an entrenched culture of privilege. Some students from wealthy suburban ISDs are falsifying documents or renting apartments solely during audition periods to secure admission.
Debut album Come Away With Me (2002)
Come Away With Me was an impressive album, one that offered something different than the mainstream pop sounds of its time. Instead, it blended country, folk, modern light jazz and rock styles seamlessly.
Jones demonstrated her talent through her stunning renditions of Hank Williams’ Cold Cold Heart and Hoagy Carmichael’s Nearness of You.
The 20th-anniversary box set features a remastered version of Jones’ Mardin-produced album as well as alternate versions and outtakes from its production process, becoming an artistic touchstone for her since. She has since released five more studio albums plus collaborated with Danger Mouse for one.
Follow-up albums Feels Like Home (2003)
Norah Jones faced one task after releasing her debut album Come Away With Me several years ago: to craft an even stronger follow-up.
Norah Jones defied expectations to break free of the sophomore jinx with her second album, Feels Like Home, debuting at No. 9 on the Top Album Sales chart and garnering her a Grammy. Subsequent releases, Not too late (2007) and Little broken hearts (2012) went multi-platinum; plus she made appearances in several films like Blueberry nights.
Not Too Late (2007)
Norah Jones went back to basics with Not Too Late after her groundbreaking debut Come Away With Me and more subdued Feels Like Home albums. Here, her songwriting took center stage while being more open than before to external influences.
Ravi Shankar produced her initial two albums, but after Arif Mardin’s death she ventured further away from jazz-lite into more traditional singer-songwriter territory, where her mellow croon and charismatic appearance made the transition seamless.
Begin Again (2019)
Jones takes pride in her creative journeys without limitations or restrictions, which results in seven diverse songs on Begin Again that span acoustic folk ballads to organ-and-horn-infused soul ballads.
Producer Leon Michels (of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and St Vincent fame) adds some distinctive sounds, including fuzzy guitars, off-kilter drumming, and vintage keyboards that provide a vintage vibe. Even when tracks lean more toward cocktail party jazz, evocative performances like Wintertime and Uh Oh keep things interesting; it shows Jones is capable of exploiting her strengths without compromising artistic integrity.
Little Broken Hearts (2012)
Norah Jones enjoyed both critical and commercial success upon the release of her first album Come Away With Me in 2002. Since then, both Feels Like Home and Not Too Late have also garnered critical acclaim.
Little Broken Hearts marks her fifth studio album and features collaborations between Danger Mouse (producer) and her, co-writing songs at their Los Angeles studio before their collaboration on Rome (Danger Mouse’s tribute to Italian cinematic music with Daniele Luppi). Many tracks on Little Broken Hearts predated Rome.
The Deluxe Edition contains extra tracks, remixes, and an Austin City Limits live version of the album recorded for added enjoyment.
Visions (2016)
Norah Jones continues her pioneering progressive jazz-pop sound on Visions, her ninth studio album. Working alongside producer-multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels creates an atmosphere of tight craftsmanship and loose jam session freedom which allows Jones to move freely between blues, exotica and Italo-western sounds.
Mournful piano chords give way to Girl Group harmonies, crushed velvet keys and thwoking bass as the lyrics explore highs and lows – “You get lost, you find yourself again”. This album boasts soaring harmonies and catchiest hooks.