The shorthand for Norah Jones’ new “Day Breaks” disc is that it’s a “return to roots.”
Like most such sound bites, that’s simplistic. Yet the jazzy, piano-based vibe is closer to Jones’ blockbuster “Come Away With Me” debut than anything she’s made since, giving her record company some 25 million reasons to be excited.
That’s the staggering number of discs that 2002 album sold, its soothing sound a balm for troubled times, earning the newcomer a fistful of Grammys. Now she’s 37, a mother of two. The new music reflects her jazz training with more challenging arrangements and an all-star band of players.
It also puts Jones back before a piano. It has been awhile since she’s written songs using the instrument she was trained on. There are better piano players, and better singers, but Jones combining the two creates an indelible sound.
“It’s more me than when I’m just singing,” she said.
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