Short Biography
NEW YORK CITY - Norah Jones, the talented singer, songwriter and pianist, who has won over the world with her signature style, unveils her new album, Not Too Late. Her third outing for Blue Note Records, the album is a 13-track gem that features, for the first time, Jones singing a full assortment of her own compositions that plumb the depths of emotion with subtle levity and probe the mind-set of living in a troubled world."Three or four years ago, I was telling people that the one thing I wanted to get better at was songwriting," says the New York-based artist who`s a multi-Grammy winner and whose albums are multi-platinum selling. Jones notes that she didn`t set out to write all the songs, but that during her last tour, she "got into a songwriting groove that continued when I got back home. I love to interpret other songwriters` music, but I don`t always feel as close to them as my own songs. These songs are much more honest, closer to my gut; this record is much more personal."
Produced by Lee Alexander, longtime bassist in Jones` band, who also shares songwriting credit on many of the tracks, Not Too Late displays a self-assured maturity, with songs that range in tempo and style while also maintaining the fundamental signature of her heartfelt delivery. The 27-year-old Jones acknowledges that she`s grown as a songwriter, noting that the songs from her first two albums were among the first she had ever written. "They`re a bit elementary when I look back at them," she says. "These new songs probably have more of my personality because I think they are a little more complex. Some of these songs are dark and cynical, but there`s also a sense of hope. That`s why the album is named Not Too Late. I liked the positive message."
Jones burst upon the pop music world with her auspicious debut, Come Away With Me, released by Blue Note in 2002. No one could have anticipated how much the then-22-year-old`s sultry and alluring music that melded jazz, country, blues and folk would resonate around the globe. The album of originals (by her as well as by friends such as Jesse Harris) and covers (written by Hank Williams, Hoagy Carmichael and J.D. Loudermilk) has sold almost 10 million copies in the U.S. and over 20 million worldwide and swept the Grammy Awards in 2003. The album established Jones as a star destined for a long career of pop music artistry. She proved to be an original with a singular voice that`s fragile, inviting and bittersweet with equal measures of wistfulness and reverie.
Two years later Jones followed up with the superb Feels Like Home, another engaging and heartfelt album that—like her first—was the perfect blend of originals by Norah and her bandmates and well-chosen covers. Feels Like Home debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, going on to sell over 4 million units in the U.S. and over 10 million worldwide. Both albums were overseen by legendary producer Arif Mardin, who passed away in June 2006.
For Not Too Late, Jones says the sessions were "fun, relaxed, just easy," in large part because most of the tracking was recorded in her and Alexander`s home studio. "This album was made so differently than the first two," she says. "For those we booked a studio for a week to record, then returned for a week a few months later. That was great, but there was always a deadline, so we had a limited amount of time. For this album, there was no pressure, no deadline. Blue Note didn`t even know about
Songs List of Norah Jones
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