Norah Jones

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It was Norah Jones' appearance Thursday, February 28th on Morning Becomes Eclectic that inspired her rising star ascent as she continues to earn fans and notoriety. She is now one of the stars lined up for the 2002 A Sounds Eclectic Evening benefit concert for KCRW. Her performance on Morning Becomes Eclectic drew upon songs from her formidable debut album, Come Away With Me, on the Blue Note label. The album offers unusual musicality and depth of feeling, complimented by a remarkable maturity in her performances and songwriting for an artist only 22 years of age.

Much of the production on Come Away With Me was done by Arif Mardin, the renowned producer/arranger of stand out recordings by Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, and Chaka Khan to name but a few heavyweight artists with whom he has colaborated.

Speaking of Come Away With Me, Norah remarks, &quotI; never thought I'd have a record like this, I thought it would be at least five years before I' d reach that point. This is really the record I wanted to make."

Norah was always intrigued and also soothed by the music of Billie Holiday and Bill Evans, though she didn't delve into jazz until attending Dallas' Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Norah appeared regularly with the funk-fusion band Wax Poetic (now signed to Atlantic) for about a year starting back in December of 1999. Later on, she assembled her own musicians: Jesse Harris, Lee Alexander, and Dan Rieser. On the 8th and 9th of October 2000, this lineup recorded a selection of demos for Blue Note Records. Though they weren't traditional jazz demos, based on the strength of the recordings and a revealing live showcase, Blue Note signed Norah Jones in January 2001. The demos soon came to be featured on the EP First Sessions, which is no longer in print and is now a highly sought after collectible.

Norah Jones blends music genres from jazz, to soul, to folk that eliminates perceived musical boundaries and invites an array of listeners to enjoy her music. She has also worked with a variety of performers including Charlie Hunter, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and DJ Logic.

Norah Jones is the daughter of Ravi Shankar and is currently based in Brooklyn, NY.

Written by Harold Cane

Playlist

[PLAYLIST GOES HERE]

Credits

Host:

Nic Harcourt

Producer:

Ariana Morgenstern