20 years ago, on February 26, 2002, the album of an unknown at the time, 22-year-old singer, composer and pianist was released. The album released by the jazz label Blue Note Records was neither a strictly jazz album, nor did it fit the atmosphere of commercial pop in 2002. Nevertheless, Norah Jones’ debut album “Come Away With Me” charmed the world by presenting one of the greatest voices of our time. The album gradually became a global phenomenon, reaching # 1 in 20 countries, selling nearly 30 million copies and winning eight GRAMMY Awards in 2003, incl. in the following categories: Album of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
“Nobody knew the record would be so successful.” 20 years since Nora Jones’s debut
In 1999, after two years of piano studies at the University of North Texas, Norah Jones moved from Texas to New York. Playing jazz concerts in restaurants all over the city, she entered the circle of artists such as Jesse Harris and Richard Julian, who often played at the Living Room music club. These musicians inspired Nora to develop her artistic and creative paths.
When Norah was playing at a jazz brunch on her 21st birthday, EMI Publishing Shell White heard her and decided to arrange a meeting with Blue Note CEO Bruce Lundvall. A month later, Norah was in Lundvall’s office presenting her demo with three songs. It included two jazz pieces: “Walkin ‘My Baby Back Home” and an unusual version of the standard “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most”, which Norah recorded in her school orchestral room, accompanying herself on the piano. The last track on the album was a song by Harris with him on acoustic guitar and Lee Alexander on bass.
Shortly thereafter, Lundvall signed a contract with Nora to create a demo. The moment the artist entered the studio, she decided to focus on the compositions she wrote together with Harris and Alexander. “The first song we recorded during these sessions was one of Jesse’s songs,” Don’t Know Why, “which we hadn’t played live yet at the time, Norah recalls in a commentary on the new collection. – We recorded it in the first try and it was just great. It was one of those magical, simple recordings. When we went back to the director to listen [realizator] Jay [Newland] he was in cloud nine. It really boosted my confidence by the end of the session and set the tone for what we were striving for. After all that has been said and done, this is the version that made it to the last album, with only a few harmonic tracks added and an extra guitar.
Lundvall fell in love with what he heard and signed a contract with Nora, making her a Blue Note artist. From then on, Norah began preparing to record her debut album. “New Moon Daughter” by Cassandra Wilson was my favorite album and was a great inspiration for me, writes Norah. – As I liked the selection of instruments (beautiful sounds and acoustic guitars) and the production, I asked Bruce if I could meet Craig Street, who produced this album. Craig and I met several times and got on very well. He liked my demos and said we should release them or use most of them. I was really excited to discover a slightly different approach to this material. I knew he could help me.
Norah and Street entered Allaire Studios near Woodstock, New York with some of her favorite musicians, including Bill Frisell and Kevin Breit on guitars, Brian Blade and Kenny Wollesen on drums, Rob Burger on accordion and organ, and Alexander on bass. – Almost everything we recorded was exceptional. We re-recorded most of the songs from the demos to see what else we could do with them, ”recalls Norah. However, while mixing, Norah began to wonder if they had gone too far with some of the songs and if Street was right about the real power of these demo songs.
After delivering Allaire Studios mixes to Blue Note, Lundvall also concluded that the new recordings deviated too much from what was so special about the demo recordings. It was decided that Norah should return to the studio and start over with Arif Mardin producing. In the end, three songs from the Allaire Studios session (“Seven Years”, “Feelin ‘The Same Way” and “The Long Day Is Over”) were kept, two from the demo sessions (“Don’t Know Why” and “Turn Me On”) and also recorded nine additional songs that were more in the spirit of the demos. This is how the album “Come Away With Me” was created.
Now, 20 years later, Norah has decided to release an album version with Allaire Studios. – It was a bit like a trip back in time to an alternative world of an album that no one has ever heard of – says the artist. – When I asked Craig to tell him about it, he suggested that we ask Tony Maserati to “align” the recordings. It made my vocals more prominent and I finally hear my little 22-year-old self trying new things and adjusting to the music around me. Coming back to these sessions, having listened to them only once in the last 20 years, was a pleasant surprise. I’m so glad that we were finally able to join forces with Craig again and that we have a chance to finish what we started together. I learned a lot from him and I always think of those times as a moment of making my dreams come true. I still have that feeling when I listen to these tapes.
When Norah mentions “Come Away With Me,” he says:
I was incredibly proud of this album and so grateful to everyone who made it with me … I thought it was a good first try and I felt that it really captured who I was – musically – at the time, and also what made me feel good about it. my greatest pride and was everything you could hope for in making this album. In the end, I was so grateful that I was able to follow different paths before putting them together. Nobody, including the label, had any idea that the album would be as successful as it did. I am eternally grateful to Bruce and the whole unique team at Blue Note for giving me the chance to find my sound and never telling me who I should be.
In addition to the original remastered album that was produced by Arif Mardin, “Super Deluxe Edition” includes 22 previously unreleased tracks, including the original demo tracks that Norah uploaded to Blue Note. In addition, the release includes a complete demo from the first session the artist created after signing the contract, and the first version of the album, which Norah recorded at Allaire Studios with producer Craig Street. Most of the recordings have never been released and offer a fascinating new look at the album.
The “20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition” collection was produced by Eli Wolf and will be released both digitally and physically as a set of 4 vinyl records and a set of 3 CDs. The CD releases will include a unique booklet containing the artist’s new comments, as well as unique photos from the photo sessions. Standalone 1-LP and 1-CD versions of the remastered original album will also be released. An unreleased alternative version of Nora’s song “Come Away With Me” from the Allaire Studios session is now available for streaming or download.
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Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
