Album Essentials: Norah Jones - "Come Away With Me"

By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor

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Norah Jones is not your average, everyday performer. People picked up on that fact from the start, as her 2002 debut album, 'Come Away with Me,' proved in numbers. Born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar, in 1979, Jones was born into a very musical family, her father being the legendary Ravi Shankar, who was a key figure and influence on many rock and roll musicians during the 1960s. His sitar playing forever connected to artists like George Harrison and countless others during the psychedelic revolution.

Instead of directly following in her father's footsteps, she struck her own unique chord by combining jazz, folk, blues, and pop into one, and in the process, taking it to the top of the Billboard pop and jazz charts, not just in the U.S. but around the globe. It's no surprise that she found a home on Blue Note Records, home of so many jazz classics over the years.

in 2002, Jones described her music this way, "Sparse. It's simple music. I find beauty in simple music. I find when you're beat over the head, it turns me off." Her unique vocal style was just a natural place for her to land. "I grew up listening to singers who, a lot of jazz singers, who had a lot of nuance which you don't always find in pop music.” Critics were quick to compare her style to that of everyone from Billie Holiday to Dusty Springfield, both of whom had a unique approach to pop music via jazz and soul as well.

To add to the array of influences, Jones debut also includes her take on the Hank Williams' classic 'Cold Cold Heart' and Hogy Charmichael's 'The Nearness Of You.' Her sublime take on all these styles led to the album ultimately going on to sell more than 27 million copies worldwide, and easily considered an essential of both pop and jazz.