Norah Jones COME AWAY WITH ME

Personnel: Norah Jones (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer piano); Jesse Harris, Kevin Breit (acoustic & electric guitars); Tony Scherr (acoustic guitar, slide guitar); Adam Levy, Bill Frisell (electric guitar); Adam Rogers (guitar); Jenny Scheinman (violin); Sam Yahel (Hammond B-3 organ); Rob Burger (organ); Lee Alexander (bass); Brian Blade (drums, percussion); Dan Reiser, Kenny Wollesen (drums).
Producers: Arif Mardin, Norah Jones, Jay Newland, Craig Street.
Recorded at Sorcerer Sound, New York, New York and Allaire Studios, Shokan, New York.
Norah Jones won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
COME AWAY WITH ME won the 2003 Grammy Awards for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical).
"Don't Know Why" won the 2003 Grammy Awards for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Arif Mardin won the 2003 Grammy Award for Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical).
A direct descendant from the pedigree of one of the 20th century's virtuosos, Norah Jones might not be on such a lofty artistic level as her dad Ravi Shankar, but certainly inherited some musical intuition from him. With nary a sitar nor raga within earshot, the young newcomer sounds very much an assimilated, western, 21st century pop-jazz singer. One thing that separates her from the pack is Ms. Jones' own piano stylings--not flashy, but deftly doubling or echoing her voice--that discreetly act as the glue holding together these airy, delicate, and beautiful arrangements.
But the centerpiece is certainly the 22-year-old's confident-beyond-her-years vocal delivery in addition to a precise diction and velvety tone. Shades of Nina Simone, vintage Phoebe Snow, and a less beatnik Rickie Lee Jones are evident throughout as the young siren coolly sashays through mostly new material by guitarist-songwriter Jesse Harris (formerly of Once Blue) and a few choice covers. Veteran producer Arif Mardin frames a most notable debut with a translucent touch, and appearances by jazz heroes Bill Frisell and Brian Blade gild the lily.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Jazz