Norah Jones comes to Athens
The velvet voice of Norah Jones takes over the Herod Atticus Theater tomorrow, with the American-born artist giving a sold-out concert as part of this year’s Athens Festival. A best-selling singer-songwriter and musician, Jones comes to Athens accompanied by the Handsome Band and M. Ward as special guest. The concert, a co-production of the Athens Festival and the Halandri Arts Center, is part of the artist’s ongoing, international 2007 tour which ends in Reykjavic on September 2. An artist with a musical penchant for jazz, sprinkled with soft country, Jones recently made her first appearance as an actress, in Kar Wai Wong’s «My Blueberry Nights,» alongside Jude Law, David Strathairn, Tim Roth, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz. Born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar in Brooklyn in 1979, Jones is the daughter of India’s leading sitar soloist Ravi Shankar and was brought up by her mother in the United States. Estranged from her father, Jones grew up with the music of Bill Evans, Billie Holiday and Willie Nelson. Her musical gifts were apparent from an early age: While at high-school, she earned the DownBeat Student Music Award for Best Jazz Vocalist twice as well as one for Best Original Composition. Singing in church choirs, playing the piano and with a short stint as a saxophone player, Jones enrolled at the University of North Texas, majoring in piano. Two years later, however, she was off to New York, performing with various bands, including Wax Poetic, the Peter Malick group and guitarist Charlie Hunter. Her major breakthrough came in 2002, when her debut album «Come Away with Me,» became an instant hit, selling over 20 million copies. Released two years later, «Feels Like Home» sold over 14 million copies, while her third album, «Not Too Late,» was released earlier this year and contains a collection of songs written or co-written by the artist. In 2003, Jones won no fewer than seven Grammy Awards, followed by two in 2005. At the age of 27, Jones is enjoying tremendous international recognition, yet tries to keep stardom from interfering with her work. Her dedication was apparent during the making of «Not Too Late,» her most personal album to date. Working quietly on her songs, executives at the celebrated Blue Note Records were not even aware of the fact that their accomplished star was producing a new album. Hellenic Festival box office, 39 Panepistimiou, tel 210.327.2000.
