Norah Jones: Tiny Desk Concert NPR Music July 22, 2024

 I haven’t posted a NPR Tiny Desk Concert for quite some while so Nora will do that job really nicely and here she is stepping out yesterday and stepping up a gear lately . . . . this is as cool as it gets

“I finally made it to Tiny Desk,” singer-songwriter Norah Jones excitedly declares during her performance. Her first Tiny Desk experience was a solo piano and vocal (home) concert, which reflected all the meditative, sonic hallmarks of performing in isolation. Since her juggernaut debut album, Come Away With Me, was released in 2002, she has crafted intimate songs that showcase her beguiling vocals. In the course of building her genre expansive catalog, she has racked up nine Grammy awards and collaborations with as varied a group as you can imagine, from Herbie Hancock and Willie Nelson, to Q-Tip and Foo Fighters.

For her long-awaited in-person performance, Jones presents a light, breezy set of soulful tracks from her newest album, Visions, a collaboration with producer Leon Michels. “Paradise,” a deceptively light and whimsical tune about letting go, begins the concert, followed by the contemplative “Swept Up in the Night.” For the psychedelic “Staring at the Wall,” featuring Jones on the guitar, drummer Brian Blade ( a regular favourite drummer of mine) and bassist Josh Lattanzi lay down a fun, body-moving groove. To close her set, Jones turns to the title track from her debut album, disclosing that the tune was written only using the five guitar chords she knew at the time. Here she reimagines her classic, opening it up in a dreamy fashion.

SET LIST

“Paradise”

“Swept Up in the Night”

“Staring at the Wall”

“Come Away With Me”

MUSICIANS

Norah Jones: piano, lead vocals

Sami Stevens: glockenspiel, vocals

Sasha Dobson: guitar, vocals

Josh Lattanzi: bass

Brian Blade: drums