Norah Jones

Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Mainstream pop, soft jazz

Status:

Most recent release, Not Too Late (2006)

See also:

Norah Jones' site

A Norah Jones fan site

Comparisons:

Sade, Holly Cole

Covers/own material:

Mostly covers, occasionally her own

General comments:

This evening I was listening to a couple of cuts from Charlie Hunter's new CD, Songs from the Analog Playground, not so we could hear Hunter's very competent jazz guitar playing but so that we could hear Norah Jones. My ears perked up when I heard her name because I read an article about her a couple of weeks ago and she sounded like a good candidate for ecto apotheosis. After hearing her, I think she will be a hit with you guys. She has a soulful voice, writes her own songs, and is a jazz pianist. She may be coming up hard on Holly Cole's heels. I see Norah Jones slipping into the jazzy poppy female vocalist strata (stratum?) that Holly is in. She has an album coming out in February on Blue Note.
     Here are some reasons for giving Norah Jones a few years to grow before we decide she is the flavor of the month melting on the sidewalk of Pop Stardom.

1. She is 21, I think.
2. She has a distinctive voice.
3. She is trying to write her own songs. I know, most ecto favorites are songwriters too. But how many of the singers tapped for the top forty aspire to write songs?
4. She comes across as a mensch in the few interviews I've read.
5. She studied jazz piano at the University of North Texas, thus allowing me to claim her as a hometown girl.

Reasons for the big media push:

1. She is 21.
2. She has a distinctive voice.
3. She's the daughter of Ravi Shankar.
4. She is easy on the eyes.
5. People are sick of Britney and Christina?
6. A record company has dollars in its eyes.

I think Norah Jones has legs. She'll be around for a while. Probably, though, Rolling Stone will forget her in six months. (lyle_howard@hotmail.com)

So the flavor of the month seems to be Norah Jones. (Ravi Shankar's 22-year-old daughter who just put out a jazz record.)
     She was apparently the talk of the SXSW conference this year...you can't listen to WFUV for more than 15 minutes without hearing her...I've heard musicians whose opinions I really respect talking her up recently...and I'm watching her on Letterman right now.
     Can someone please explain to me what the big deal is? I mean, she's nice and all, but there just doesn't seem to be any There there. I don't understand why everyone and their sister is having multiple orgasms over her all of a sudden.
     What am I missing? (I'm obviously missing *something*.)
     Seeking enlightenment....
(Later) 2002 Musical Aberration Of The Year: Norah Jones
     Now, I usually reserve this spot to rank on some ungodly maker of musical evil...but I don't think Norah Jones is that. Still, I just don't get why the world is having multiple orgasms over a bland, breathy-voiced kid who clearly doesn't feel anything she's singing and whose music all sounds the same.
I'm not a Norah Jones fan—I find her music way too bland and expressionless—but I am happy for her success. (meth@smoe.org)

I did pick up Norah Jones at Borders a couple of weeks ago. It was on a listening station, and it was cheap. The little bits I heard worked for me on the level of her vocal quality if not the songs. I knew nothing about her and hadn't heard any of the hype. No...it didn't knock me out. It's not that kind of album. It works very well as a slinky, smokey, jazzy album. It's very much a background music type of thing. Nice and relaxing to listen to while reading a book or just lounging on your patio. There are a couple of places where her voice evoked Kathleen Wilhoite (very under-rated, and I would love to hear more from her). I think I would classify it as Ecto Lounge music. There is nothing here that will grab you or have you humming it later in the day. If you approach this release with that understanding, it might work for you.
     Hey...it was cheap, and it doesn't totally suck. (JavaHo@aol.com)

Oh, yeah. About the most that I can say about this is that it is the Distilled Essence of Inoffensiveness. Just about anyone can put it on in the background, nod their heads and say "that's nice", and pat themselves on the back for buying something packaged as jazz. (jzitt@humansystems.com)

Did Norah Jones really deserve 8 grammies? Yes, yes she did. And if Ectophiles had discovered her before the rest of the country, we'd all be turning cartwheels in happiness for her instead of sniping at her success. (vickie@enteract.com)

For the record, I heard her album several months ago and thought it was pleasant but a little too mellow for my tastes. (trow@interbridge.com)

Comments about live performance:

i saw her on her recent tour of australia and thought she was wonderful. (2/03, maier@joynet.com.au)

Recommended first album:

Come Away With Me is her debut

Recordings:

• Come Away With Me (2002)
• Feels Like Home (2004)
• Not Too Late (2006)

Come Away With Me

Release info:

2002

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended only for fans of soft jazz

Group members:

Norah Jones—piano, electric piano, vocals

Guest artists:

Arif Mardin—string arrangements
Dan Rieser—drums
Adam Rogers—guitar
Tony Scherr—slide guitar, acoustic guitar
Kevin Breit—electric guitar, steel guitar, acoustic guitar
Ê Kenny Wollesen—drums
Jesse Harris—electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Rob Burger—accordion, pump organ
Sam Yahel—Hammond organ
Lee Alexander—bass
Jenny Scheinman—violin
Adam Levy—electric guitar
Brian Blade—drums, percussion
Bill Frisell—electric guitar

Produced by:

Arif Mardin, Jay Newland, Craig Street, Norah Jones

Comments:

See general comments above.

Not Too Late

Release info:

2006—Blue Note Records—0946 3 74516 2 5

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended for fans

Group members:

Norah Jones—vocals, piano, Wurlitzer, electric guitar, acoustic guitars, pump organ, mellotron

Guest artists:

Jesse Harris (Once Blue)—acoustic guitars, guitjo
Julia Kent—cello
Jeffrey Zeigler—cello
Daru Oda—vocals (2, 12); whistle
M. Ward—vocals (2)
Kevin Breit—mandolin
J. Walter Hawkes—trombones
Lee Alexander—bass, lap steel
Andrew Borger—drums, slit drum, pots & pans, marimba, cymbals
Adam Levy—electric guitars; vocal (12)
Paul Bryan—Chamberlin keyboards
Larry Goldings—Hammond B-3 organ
Chuck MacKinnon—trumpet
Rob Sudduth—tenor sax
Tony Mason—drums
Devin Greenwood—Hammond B-3 organ
Jose Davila—tuba
Bill McHenry—tenor sax
Richard Julian—vocals (10)
Tony Scherr—electric guitar
Robbie McIntosh—electric guitar solo (12)

Produced by:

Lee Alexander

Comments:

I like the couple of folky tunes, but most of the album is soft jazz that doesn't really do anything for me. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Further info:

Norah Jones is also a member of The Little Willies.

Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.

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