Tracks
Performer Notes
- 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.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (12/26/02, p.104) - Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's list of 2002's "10 Best Debuts"
Rolling Stone (3/28/02, pp.68,70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A quietly captivating triumph of torch song[s]..."
Entertainment Weekly (12/20-27/02, p.128) - Ranked #10 on EW's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year"
Entertainment Weekly (3/8/02, p.73) - "...Jones' album has the lope of Western swing and the flow of a good live set....Her voice is supple and precise, her touch on piano lovely..." - Rating: A-
Down Beat (June 2002, pp.63-64) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "...Jones delivers...multigenre cross-cultural eclecticism....It is a voice containing seductive mysteries and also the most exposed human vulnerabilities..."
JazzTimes (6/02, p.88) - "...Ranks among the most bracing and beautiful in recent memory..."
Vibe (4/02, p.168) - 3.5 discs out of 5 - "...She allows a pared-down, semi-acoustic backdrop to showcase her lilting soprano....an auspicious debut..."
Mojo (Publisher) - Ranked #74 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[S]eductive, mysterious songs, slouched jazzily around the rhythm, and slipped in a lonesome touch of twang."
Mojo (Publisher) (April 2002, p.110) - "...Jones' debut is a calming delight, a delicate acoustic dance that pulls country, blues and jazz into a gorgeous, soft-edged rootsy singer-songwriter world...Soothing and substantial."