Norah Jones Biography

Musician and performer Norah Jones—the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and concert producer Sue Jones—was born in 1979.  A childhood filled with music was disrupted by her parents’ divorce when she was still a child, and Norah moved with her mother to Grapevine, Texas. She attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, singing in the choir and playing sax in the school band. She developed an early affinity for jazz, and to this day still cites Billie Holiday as an early influence in her music.

Norah Jones chose the University of North Texas for her college studies, majoring in jazz piano, before moving to New York City in 1999.  While in New York, Norah Jones started her own band with musicians Dan Riser, Jesse Harris, and Lee Alexander. They recorded some demos, which did not result in a contract for the band, but helped Norah Jones earn her contract with Blue Note Records in 2001.

Norah Jones released her debut album, Come Away with Me, in 2002, to enormous success. The album sold over twenty-six million copies and earned Norah Jones Grammys for Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. She followed up in 2004 with Feels Like Home, and then Not Too Late in 2007. The Fall came next in 2009, and all albums earned platinum status. In 2012, Norah Jones released Little Broken Hearts and began a world tour, kicking off in Paris, with stops in North America, Europe, South America, Australia, and Asia included.

Norah Jones ranks as one of the top jazz recording artists of the decade. In total, her sales exceed fifty million albums, and she continues to write, record, tour, and perform alongside her band, which features: Peter Remm, Jason Roberts, Josh Lattanzi, and Greg Wieczorek. Jones’s latest album, Day Breaks, arrived in 2016. It was accompanied by an extensive world tour which lasted well into 2017.