Norah Jones, a jazz musician who has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, debuted Visions as #1 on Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album Chart upon its release this fall.
Her mother raised her in a suburban Dallas neighborhood, where she discovered a love for music through listening to records in her record collection. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts as well as University of North Texas to hone her craft.
Born in New York City
Norah Jones has already realized her dreams of success and fulfilment at such an early age, selling millions of albums worldwide and performing in 3,000-seat theaters around the globe. Her multidimensional art style draws on diverse cultural roots including those from her parents – Sue Jones (singer/songwriter) and Ravi Shankar (renowned Indian sitar player).
While in high school, she participated in her school band and choir as well as taking piano lessons. When she turned sixteen she gave her debut solo performance at a coffeehouse open mic night. Following graduation from Colleyville Middle and Grapevine High Schools she went on to study at Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts before studying jazz vocal performance at University of North Texas, where she won Down Beat’s Student Music Award twice for Best Jazz Vocalist – two awards she still holds today!
Later she relocated to New York City where she waited tables at Greenwich Village clubs before forming a band known as Little Willies with Lee Alexander on bass, drummer Dan Rieser on drums, and guitarist Jesse Harris as members. Since then she has released six studio albums as well as collaborated with many artists such as Ryan Adams.
She is an American singer-songwriter
Norah Jones burst onto the scene at just 23 with her 2002 breakthrough release Come Away With Me, an instantaneous hit album that combined country, folk, and Great American Songbook sounds – garnering her the Grammy award for Best New Artist as well as becoming an adult contemporary radio staple with its single “Don’t Know Why.”
She majored in piano at the University of North Texas but left school early to focus on her music, touring small bars and clubs with her band. One day, a Blue Note executive heard her perform and signed her to their label.
Norah Jones draws upon her own life experiences to shape her music, which incorporates elements of funk, R&B, and soul. She has become an accomplished collaborator, working alongside Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals (Ryan Adams/the Cardinals), Belle and Sebastian, Q-Tip and Herbie Hancock to name just a few. Additionally she collaborated with sitar master Anoushka Shankar on their 2013 collaboration album Traces of You; also refusing to promote her music on social media or coach any television singing contests
She has a band called Little Willies
Norah Jones may be a global superstar with millions of fans, yet she remains loyal to the small Gotham clubs where she first cut her teeth. One such club saw Lee Alexander, Richard Julian and Jim Campilongo come together as her Little Willies bandmates.
At their debut release in 2006, almost exclusively covers were presented. Now they return with For the Good Times featuring classic country tracks.
The album finds the band finding their groove, with a relaxed camaraderie that serves them well in their work. Even when taking on pop tunes like “Once I Had a Laugh,” their approach never feels contrived or forced; when taking on jazz standards like Horace Silver’s “Peace”, their performance becomes transcendent; Norah’s piano playing is at the core of their project, while each musician adds their unique talents.
She has a sister named Anoushka Shankar
Geetali Norah Jones Shankar was born in New York City on March 30th 1979 and later changed it with her father’s consent when she reached 16. After Sue Jones and Ravi Shankar separated when Norah was four, she lived with Sue alone in Grapevine Texas until leaving Grapevine at sixteen to attend university in Texas. Growing up listening to Sue’s record collection influenced heavily by jazz, soul and folk music she began her musical studies under renowned professor Jacques Calmelier at age 18.
After some musical experimentation, she finally found her sound with the release of Come Away With Me in 2002 – an album which proved both critically and commercially successful, garnering her numerous Grammy awards along the way.
Feels Like Home, an album which fused contemporary jazz and folk influences, followed in 2004. She became popular for her live performances and has collaborated with artists like Foo Fighters, Ryan Adams and Outkast.