Norah Jones News...
Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Norah Jones has released her fourth studio album on Blue Note Records. Jones wrote nearly all of the songs in the past two years since completing tours in support of her 2007 global chart-topping, U.S. double-platinum album Not Too Late.
Beloved by fans for her sultry vocals and jazz-informed, piano-driven pop songwriting, Jones has taken a new direction on the as-yet-untitled album, seeing it as a chance to experiment with different sounds and an opportunity to work with a new set of collaborators, including Jacquire King, a noted producer and engineer who has worked with Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, and Modest Mouse among others. Jones also enlisted several songwriting collaborators, including Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, as well as her frequent partner Jesse Harris.
“I knew I wanted to try some different things on this album,” Jones says. “I’d been playing with the same musicians for a long time. We’re all still friendly and I hope we play together again, but it felt like a good time to work with new people and experiment with different sounds. As far as a producer, I wanted someone who could take me out of my comfort zone and find the right musicians to capture what I wanted to do with this collection of songs. I got in touch with Jacquire initially because he engineered one of my favorite records of all time, Tom Waits’ Mule Variations. He was really eager to do it and we got along really well, which was important.”
King helped Jones put together a new group of musicians to perform on the album, including drummers Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) and James Gadson (Bill Withers), keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green), and guitarists Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer). Jones and King tailored the songs to the musicians’ strengths. “I think the record sounds different due to the variety of musicians we used,” Jones says, “I knew I wanted to play with grooves more than I have on previous albums. Some of these new songs lent themselves to having driving rhythms underneath.”
Another noticeable change on Jones’ upcoming album is that she plays mostly guitar. “I actually write more on guitar than I do on piano,” she says. “It just felt more natural for me to play it on these songs.”
Since coming on the scene in 2002, Jones’ has sold a collective 36 million albums worldwide. Her three studio albums, 2002’s eight-time Grammy Award-winning Come Away With Me, 2004’s Feels Like Home, and 2007’s Not Too Late have each topped the Billboard top 200 album charts in the U.S. and gone to No. 1 around the world. All three have been certified multi-platinum, while Come Away With Me has been certified diamond. Since 2007, Jones has collaborated with a number of artists, including Herbie Hancock, Talib Kweli, Willie Nelson, Q-Tip, Irma Thomas, and Andy Samberg’s comedy troupe The Lonely Island. She has also contributed to various soundtracks, including Ken Burns’ The War, Ethan Hawke’s The Hottest State, and Wong Kar-wai’s My Blueberry Nights, as well as the Fats Domino tribute album Goin’ Home. In 2007, Jones starred opposite Jude Law in My Blueberry Nights and made a cameo in this year’s season finale of 30 Rock. Also this year, Jones was featured as a flagship artist on Apple’s GarageBand, presenting a tutorial on how to perform her song “Thinking About You.”
LISTEN FOR NORAH'S NEW SONG, "CHASING PIRATES" ON WLOQ!
Could Mick Hucknall Of Simply Red Replace Rod Stewart?
It looks like the Faces, a ’70s British group that rose to fame on the strength of vocalist Rod Stewart, will be reunited for a tour next year. There’s only one problem – Stewart hasn’t committed to the tour yet and is expected to be performing in 2010 to support his latest CD, Soulbook.
Faces, featuring original members Ron Wood, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones, reunited on October 25 in London for a benefit show and featured three guest vocalists, including Mick Hucknall, founder, leader and vocalist for Simply Red. McLagan tells Billboard that the band, whose best-known songs are “Stay With Me” and “Ooh La La,” is likely to ask Hucknall if he wants to be part of the project, but expect to approach other singers as well.
“If we don’t do it very soon, one of us is gonna check out,” McLagan says. “I’m 64 … We’ve been waiting and waiting for Rod to say yes; now he’s finally said no. He’s busy doing other (stuff). So we’re gonna do it.”
Hucknall does have other duties planned for 2010. He and Simply Red will be performing worldwide in what Hucknall says are the final performances of the band. He plans to concentrate on his solo career.
Alicia Keys, Sade to perform in NYC
Alicia Keys has recruited two of music’s biggest names to join her at a charity event in New York City on Sept. 30. Jay-Z and Sade will perform at her annual Black Ball, which benefits her Keep A Child Alive foundation.
Keys will also take the stage at the concert, which will be held at the Hammerstein Ball.
Keep A Child Alive is marking its seventh year. The organization helps kids and families with HIV/AIDS in India and Africa.
Jay-Z will no doubt join Keys on their massive hit, “Empire State of Mind.” Sade’s 2010 album, Soldier of
Love, is working its second single, “Babyfather.”
Donald Fagen Talks about the Tour!
Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen heads out on a tour this August with fellow hitmakers Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs– and he’s giving a few hints as to what fans can expect. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Fagen describes The Dukes of September as “a real band — not some American Idol or TV thing. There’s going to be no synths and we’re going to try to respect the music.” Each artist will take turns singing; besides their own hits, the band plans to cover songs from everyone from The Grateful Dead and The Band to Ray Charles.
Fagen added that he and Walter Becker will tour Australia in November, but there’s no new Steely Dan album in the pipeline. ”We can’t seem to get serious about it.” As for his own solo project, “Only one song is done. It’s got a James Brown-ish feel.”
The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue dates are as follows:
August 19 Danbury, CT Charles Ives Center
August 20 Atlantic City, NJ The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
August 22 Loudoun, VA Belmont Country Club
August 25 Charlotte, NC Roadrunner Mobile Amphitheatre
August 26 Atlanta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
August 28 Raleigh, NC Raleigh Amphitheatre
August 29 Richmond, VA Innsbrook Pavilion
August 31 Boston, MA Wang Theatre
September 2 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
September 3 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theatre
September 6 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair
September 8 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
September 10 Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion
September 11 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
September 14 Council Bluffs, IA Mid-America Center
September 15 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater
September 17 Tunica, MS Harrah’s Tunica
September 18 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
September 27 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 29 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
October 1 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
October 2 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
Some Surprises From Norman Brown
He’s just released a new album, Sending My Love….and is on the charts with his idol, George Benson, with the hot single, “Nuthin But A Party” — but guitarist Norman Brown still has a few surprises up his sleeve.
In an interview with Smooth Jazz Magazine, the Grammy-winning guitarist shares that he’s a huge fan of big band music and wants to do project in that direction: “In junior high and high school I played in the jazz band and then it was just so cool. The Count Basie Orchestra, man I just love that sound, yeah. So I do hope to do something like that.”
And while he fulfilled a huge goal by recording with Benson, there are a few big names he hopes to collaborate with down the road: “I would love to work with Herbie Hancock …I’m also a big fan of Wynton Marsalis, and hopefully one day that can come about… I love Anita Baker, it would be cool to do something with her…”
Finally, while he’s known for his work on the guitar, Brown’s musical talent extends to the saxophone as well — although he admits his chops aren’t quite as finely honed. “I haven’t played in a while; I’ve been so concentrating on writing and perfecting my vocals, and just my artistry. The saxophone hasn’t really fit into it yet, but one day I’m going to surprise everyone and break it out on a gig!”
Brown’s Summer Storm tour (with Phil Perry, Jessy J and Brenda Russell) heads to the West Coast this weekend. For details, visit www.normanbrown.com.