Born in New York City on March 30, 1979, Jones� musical story begins in Texas where she grew up and attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. While she listened to the pop and country music her mom and grandparents liked (such as Aretha Franklin and Willie Nelson, respectively), she was bitten by the jazz bug, studied piano then majored in jazz piano at North Texas State University. But in the summer of 1999, Jones took a trip to New York City and never moved back. Instead she hooked up with some local songwriters, began writing tunes and performing at small clubs. An employee in the EMI Royalties Department approached Blue Note Records, best known for its legacy of jazz recordings, with Norah�s demo in 2000 and she was signed soon after in January 2001 by the label�s president Bruce Lundvall. In Time magazine, he praised her �signature voice, right from the heart to you� and noted, �When you�re lucky enough to hear that, you don�t hesitate. You sign it.�
Working first with top-notch producer Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson) and then legendary producer Arif Mardin (Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson), Jones recorded Come Away With Me�an album of originals, songs by band members (bassist Lee Alexander and former guitarist Jesse Harris) and brilliant covers of John D. Loudermilk�s �Turn Me On,� Hoagy Carmichael�s �The Nearness of You� and Hank Williams� �Cold, Cold Heart.� Mardin told Blender magazine, �We recorded the old way: People played, people sang, lots of eye contact. {Norah�s] a jewel.�
Come Away With Me has been an auspicious start to Norah Jones� career. With the CD still selling briskly, 2003 promised to bring more people into her fold. As Rolling Stone commented, Jones �has proved along the way that it doesn�t always take bump-and-grind for a woman to sell a million albums.�
The 23-year-old newcomer swept the major Grammy Awards on February 8, 2003, winning Album of the Year for "Come Away With Me," Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Don't Know Why" (an award that went to songwriter Jesse Harris) and Best New Artist.
Jones went five-for-five, also winning best pop vocal album and best female pop vocal performance. "Come Away With Me" producer Arif Mardin won Producer of the Year.
After the awards ceremony, Jones told The Music Room she was overwhelmed by her wins. "I can't top it," she said. "I don't expect to top it." |
