NORAH JONES
- Live In New Orleans

The shy demeanour of Ms. Jones places you in a quandary of being more attracted to her non-superstar attitude or the whole bashful thing being a bit annoying. No matter how the exterior strikes you - and she is cute - here it's all about the music. The smooth avenues of blues, light jazzy touches and easy listening intersect at this intimate live performance at the legendary New Orleans House of Blues. This multi-Grammy Award winner and her "very handsome" band" deliver over a dozen tunes of mellow, melodic and lyrical beauty. Yes, Come Away With Me is included, and it's nice to see how she doesn't grab the songwriting credit for herself as she acknowledges her band members when playing their songs. Other tracks include both originals and a few covers: Cold Cold Heart, Nightingale, Comes Love, What Am I To You?, Lonestar, Bessie Smith and Tennessee Waltz. The extras are few and far between and only consists of an encore song and the (plane & should've-been-better) music video for her career breaking hit Come Away With Me. A sparkling talent none the less.

4 / B
- PB