Come Away With Me

Come Away With Me blends elements of jazz, soul, country, and folk-pop in a warm, unselfconscious amalgam, and erases musical boundaries in the process. Norah Jones, on vocals, piano and Wurlitzer electric piano, is backed seamlessly by a skilled supporting cast. The adroit and understated production is by Arif Mardin, the veteran producer/arranger of landmark recordings by Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Laura Nyro, Roberta Flack, and Willie Nelson, to name a few.STUDIO NOTES: The record is comprised of material recorded in May 2001 with producer Craig Street, and in August 2001 with producer Arif Mardin. Reflecting on the studio sessions Norah says, I feel like this record is a pretty full expression of where I am now. It's music of mine, and many of my friends. Also some jazz standards and covers. The environnment was great. I felt very comfortable with all the musicians. It was a real collaborative effort. It felt like we were making a record in my living room. Most of it was recorded pretty much live, with extra guitar and voice overdubs here and there. I don't know if it can be classified as jazz really, or pop music. Hopefully it can be appreciated by fans of both. It has lots of different elements. In the end though, it's all about the songs. I think they're all very strong songs. I'm very lucky to have friends who are great songwriters. The originals ended up being the bulk of the album. A few of them are mine, but Jesse and Lee contributed greatly as well.