Norah Jones
Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979)[2] is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and, as of 2023, had sold more than 50 million records worldwide.[3] Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s decade. She has won nine Grammy Awards and was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine's artists of the 2000s decade chart.[4]
Norah Jones
- Singer
- songwriter
- musician
Pete Remm
2
- Ravi Shankar (father)
- Anoushka Shankar (half-sister)
- Shubhendra Shankar (half-brother)
- Uday Shankar (uncle)
- Amala Shankar (aunt)
- Mamata Shankar (first cousin)
- Viji Subramaniam (first cousin)
- Gingger Shankar (first cousin once removed)
- Vocals
- piano
- guitar
2001–present
In 2002, Jones launched her solo music career with the release of Come Away with Me, which was a fusion of jazz with country, blues, folk and pop. It was certified diamond, selling over 27 million copies.[5] The record earned Jones five Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist, making her the first person of South Asian descent to win that many Grammy awards.[6] Her subsequent studio albums Feels Like Home (2004), Not Too Late (2007), and The Fall (2009), all gained platinum status, selling over a million copies each.[7] They were also generally well received by critics.[8]
Jones made her feature film debut as an actress in My Blueberry Nights, which was released in 2007 and was directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
Jones is the daughter of Indian sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, and is the half-sister of fellow Indian musicians Anoushka Shankar and Shubhendra Shankar.
Early life[edit]
Jones was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar on March 30, 1979, in Manhattan, New York City, to American concert producer Sue Jones and Indian Bengali musician Ravi Shankar.[2][9]
After her parents separated in 1986, Jones lived with her mother, growing up in Grapevine, Texas. As a child, Jones began singing in church and also took piano and voice lessons. She attended Grapevine Middle School and Grapevine High School before transferring to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. Her music took its first form early on in the local Methodist Church where she regularly sang solos. While in high school, she sang in the school choir, participated in band, and played the alto saxophone. At the age of 16, with both parents' consent, she officially changed her name to Norah Jones.[2][10]
Jones always had an affinity for the music of Bill Evans and Billie Holiday, among other "oldies". She once said, "My mom had this eight-album Billie Holiday set; I picked out one disc that I liked and played that over and over again".[11]
She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts during the summers. While at high school, she won the Down Beat Student Music Awards for Best Jazz Vocalist (twice, in 1996 and 1997) and Best Original Composition (1996).[12]
Jones attended the University of North Texas (UNT), where she majored in jazz piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers. During this time, she had a chance meeting with future collaborator Jesse Harris. She gave a ride to a band playing at the university whose members happened to be friends of Harris. He was on a cross-country road trip with friend and future Little Willies member Richard Julian, and stopped to see the band play. After meeting Jones, Harris started sending her lead sheets of his songs.
In 1999, Jones left Texas for New York City. Less than a year later, she started a band with Harris, and her recordings with them were bestsellers.[13]
Personal life[edit]
Jones was in a relationship with bassist Lee Alexander from 2000 to 2007.[83] After a period of estrangement from her father, Ravi Shankar, Jones traveled to New Delhi to spend time with him and wrote some material that was later recorded for the album The Fall.[84] Jones has two children with her husband, keyboardist Pete Remm.[41][85][86][87][88]
Studio albums
Collaborative albums
