Four sections of chiffon curtain cascaded from the rafters to the stage, serving as the backdrop for one of the world’s most famous chanteuses. Whitney Hall, in the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, was bathed in ultraviolet and a rainbow array of color on this Friday evening, as a full house welcomed Norah Jones to Louisville. As I found my seat, the anticipation was palpable as the lights dimmed and the show began.
Sasha Dobson, an experienced artist, opened the show. Sasha has an impressive pedigree; she began her on-stage career at the age of 12 and is the daughter of the late jazz pianist and composer, Smith Dobson, and the American jazz singer, Gail Dobson. Her 2006 debut release, Modern Romance, garnered her notoriety as a new, desirable force in the jazz community.
Dobson walked on stage dressed in a red, slinky affair, accompanied by her partner, Steve Elliott. She would play several different guitars while Elliott would provide a tasty background of eclectic rhythm. Ms. Dobson has a long history with Norah Jones. They go back, as band mates, to the late 1990s New York club scene. Sasha is now part of Norah’s touring band as a backup singer and multi-instrumentalist.
This was only Dobson’s second appearance as opening act for the tour. Her six-song set list was in support of her latest, self-produced release entitled Burn. Sasha and Steve played together well. Yet, it sometimes seemed as though it was a rehearsal rather than a performance. Fortunately, the six songs were all the audience had to endure, although the crowd did finally warm up to the duo by the time they played the final song, “Family.” They rocked it out a bit and it showcased Elliott’s technique and style. This stark performance, with all its stutter-steps, will most probably improve as the tour progresses.
The lights came up for a short intermission. Whitney Hall’s design is similar to Aiken Theater in the Centre. The floor section, where I was seated, has those long rows without any center aisle. And, of course, everyone has to get up, come and go. In fact, the inconvenience of this design even prompts Norah Jones to comment about it during her set. As she looked out over the audience, she quipped that “…when someone has to ‘go’ everyone has to go.” The intermission seems relatively short because of the activity of the packed house. Or maybe it is the excitement of the many NJ fans. Then, the lights dim and out walks the band. Then, a moment later, out walks Norah Jones to thunderous applause.
Ms. Jones enters center stage dressed in classic cocktail attire: black, red, and shiny. From top to bottom, with those consummate features that only the combination of Indian music and western dance could provide, Norah is the portrait of musical class and school-girl charm that has made her the favorite of millions around the globe. She is the enviable combination of talent that it takes some a lifetime to obtain. And she is a dynamic business presence that has sold almost 40 million units in slightly more than 10 years.
Norah began the set playing an electric guitar, opening with “I Wouldn’t Need You” from her latest release, The Fall. By the time she eased into the third song, Norah had moved to her electric piano. The tune, “Chasing Pirates,” has a catchy Wurlitzer groove; “… Pirates” is also the song that Norah has played on the various television programs to promote her current tour.
As she and the band got to middle set, she was covering “Sunrise,” the title song from her smash 2004 release. She moved effortlessly through a rather massive list of material. She would continue to pepper this list with more songs from her current release. The introspective “Back to Manhattan,” her ode to lost love, was embellished with dusky rhythms from an upright piano. Bracketing this material, Norah switches back to guitar to do a version of Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart.” Then she kicked it up by doing a rockabilly version of the Johnny Cash hit, “Cry, Cry, Cry.” Wherever those two country music giants were at that moment, I know their toes were a-tappin’.
Norah’s band actually has an alumnus of Johnny Cash on primary guitar. Smokey Hormel played on Cash’s latest release, Ain’t No Grave, as well as on Tom Waits’ Mule Variations. The rest of the band has impressive credentials. The already-mentioned Sasha Dobson has been involved with Ms. Jones for years and the drummer, Joey Wonaker, brought quite a thunder that made all the songs sound a bit beefier than NJ fans might remember them being in the past. Norah had stated that she wanted to be a bit different this time out and she has certainly accomplished that.
As the show came to a close, Norah soloed on several tunes, including another selection from her latest release, Man of the Hour. And, finally, at the end of an impressive 18-song set list, she brought the house down with “Come Away with Me.” This song, from the 2002 album of the same name, was Jones’ breakout million seller. There were two encores; the first was a front stage group of Jones, Dobson, and Hormel doing a cantina-style number, with Hormel strumming a Dobro. The second reunited the band to bring the concert to a final curtain with one more standing ovation.
Norah Jones showed that evening why she has a world-wide following. She played everything that even the most discerning fan could want. And she did it with an ease and panache that has made her not only a fan favorite but an industry giant. And as I exited to the streets of Louisville with all the rest of the satiated Jones fans, my only question was… why did I have to drive two hours to see such a great show.
Paul Mattingly can be heard on WUEV 91.5 FM on The Afternoon Jazzflight - Mondays (4-6 pm) and Fridays (3-6 pm).
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PHOTO CREDIT | EMI
