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Norah Jones

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Norah Jones

Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar on March 30 1979 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and occasional actress.

Jones's career was launched with her massively successful 2002 debut album Come Away with Me, a contemporary pop album with a sensual, plaintive soul/folk/country tinge, that sold over twenty million copies worldwide and received six Grammy Awards, with Jones winning "Best New Artist". Her second album, Feels like Home, was released in 2004, clocking more than a million sales in the first week of U.S. release. In 2007, she released her third album, Not Too Late, which debuted at number one on the world charts. She has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade clocking up sales of more than 35 million records worldwide.

Biography

Born as Geethali Norah Jones Shankar in New York, New York, but later changed her name officially to Norah Jones, at the age of 16. She is the daughter of the india sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and Sue Jones, and is the half-sister of musician Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar's daughter from his second marriage. She spent her childhood with her mother, who moved to the Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, when Jones was four. She has always liked the music of Bill Evans and Billie Holiday among others from the 'oldies' section and considers Willie Nelson her idol. She has been quoted as saying, "My mom had this eight-album Billie Holiday set, I picked out one disc that I liked and played that over and over again."

Jones began singing in church choirs, taking piano lessons, and even briefly trying out the alto saxophone. She attended Interlochen Arts Camp, Grapevine High School, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. 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).[1] She then attended the University of North Texas, where she majored in jazz piano. In 1999, two years into the program, Jones left for New York City. Since about that time she has been romantically involved with bassist Lee Alexander.![citation needed]

Musical career

Early days

Jones was a lounge singer before becoming a recording artist.[1] Jones played with numerous artists and bands including Wax Poetic and the Peter Malick Group. Jones performed quite frequently with guitarist Charlie Hunter in 2001 and appeared on Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album in a duet with André 3000 in 2003. While Jones is best-known for her sultry-yet-powerful vocal style, often compared to that of Billie Holiday or Nina Simone, her abilities as a jazz pianist have likewise been celebrated. On January 19 2003 Jones appeared as a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on NPR, performing jazz standards such as "September in the Rain" and "I Can't Get Started," and later that year she appeared again with McPartland at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, performing more standards such as "Lover Man" and "Walking My Baby Back Home". She has performed at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in both 2004 and 2005.

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 country. 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. 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 "Nearness of You" at the fundraiser. "Come Away With Me" has sold over 20 million copies.

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.[2] "Feels Like Home" has sold over 14 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.[3] 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 and reached #1 on the United World Chart with sales over 720,000 in its first week. It is the second best first week album sales of 2007 after Avril Lavigne's third album The Best Damn Thing. 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.[4] The album has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, according to media traffic.[5] But with shipment it sold 4 million copies. The first single, "Thinking About You", became Jones's first single to chart on the U.S. Hot 100 since "Don't Know Why".[6]

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.

Shortly after Jones' third album, Not Too Late, was released, information about her forthcoming US and international tour was released. Pre-sales of tickets to the shows were made available to her fan club members, and many of the shows sold out well before the performance date.

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, Randy Newman, and Tom Waits.

Nominations and awards

Come Away with Me was heavily nominated for the Grammy Awards of 2003. By receiving Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist honors all in 2003, she became only the second person to win the "Big Four" of the Grammies in one year (the other being Christopher Cross in 1979). Of the eight awards for Come Away with Me, Jones personally received five, with the other three attributed to the album itself. "Don't Know Why" was also performed on an episode of Sesame Street, in which Jones changed the lyrics to "Don't know why Y didn't come," and thereby introduced the letter Y to the young audience.

Jones received three awards at the Grammy Awards of 2005, including "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" for her collaboration with Ray Charles on the song "Here We Go Again". She personally earned her eighth Grammy (and eleventh overall) for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for her song "Sunrise". That year, Jones appeared on the self-titled record by Amos Lee.

Jones also collaborated with the Foo Fighters on their 2005 record In Your Honor, singing vocals with Dave Grohl on "Virginia Moon". The song was nominated for a "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" in 2006.

Grammy Awards

Source: Grammy official site

Year Category Recording Result
Grammy Awards
2003 Best Pop Vocal Album "Come Away With Me" Won
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "Don't Know Why" Won
Best New Artist Herself Won
Song of the Year "Don't Know Why" Won
Album Of The Year "Come Away With Me" Won
Record Of The Year "Don't Know Why" Won
2005 Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals "Here We Go Again" Won
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "Sunrise" Won
Record Of The Year "Here We Go Again" Won

On screen

Norah Jones's cameo in the 2002 film Two Weeks Notice 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."

In February 2006, Screen International reported that Jones would make her acting debut in a film directed by Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express). The film, My Blueberry Nights, was the opening film for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival as one of the 22 films in competition.

Collaborations

Laszlo "Butterflies"

Laszlo "Butterflies" was formed in the late 1990s in Denton, TX. 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 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"

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".

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.[7] 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).

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." [2]

Wyclef Jean

Jones collaborated on the song "Any Other Day" with Wyclef Jean for the Hurricane Katrina benefit album Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now. [8]Critics heralded the track "..her finest collaboration to date, Jones goes with Wyclef to areas neither has shown before..."

Discography

Main article: Norah Jones discography

Filmography

Awards

Jones has won multiple awards, most notably her Grammy Awards.

Grammy Awards:

See also

References

  1. ^ Glide Magazine article at http://www.glidemagazine.com/index.php?task=Articles&section=94&id=46253&issue=1&PHPSESSID=53031
  2. ^ Farley, Christopher John. "The 2004 Time 100 - Artists & Entertainers - Norah Jones" Time.
  3. ^ Interview with Katie Couric. 60 Minutes. February 11 2007.
  4. ^ "Norah Jones' "Not Too Late" debuts at #1 in the world's key markets". EMI. February 7 2007. Retrieved February 13 2007.
  5. ^ media traffic
  6. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0hbsa9cgq23k~T51
  7. ^ http://www.villageindian.com/village_indian/2006/05/no_jo_the_delan.html
  8. ^ Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now liner notes
  • [3] UK chart positions source
  • [4] UK chart positions source #2
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norah Jones.
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Template:S-awards
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best New Artist
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for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
 Grammy Award for Album of the Year
2003
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2003
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Preceded by Grammy Award for Record of the Year
2003
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Preceded by Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
2003
for Don't Know Why 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
2005
for Sunrise 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grammy Award for Record of the Year
2005
for Here We Go Again 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
2005
for Here We Go Again 		Succeeded by
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