Norah Jones has shared her spirited new song “Staring at the Wall” along with an accompanying video which was directed by Jones and Kyle Paas and features studio footage as well as Norah’s handwritten lyrics. It’s the second track to be revealed from the nine-time GRAMMY winning singer, songwriter, and pianist’s vibrant ninth solo studio album Visionswhich comes out March 8 on Blue Note Records. A collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels, the album was introduced last month with the lead single “Running.”
“This is one of my favorites,” Jones says of “Staring at the Wall,” which was co-written by Jones and Michels and features Norah on vocals, guitar, and piano with Leon on bass, drums, and tambourine. “It was kind of a left turn from everything else on the album. It's the first time I played guitar with Leon, we were just trying to come up with something different. I got on guitar and he got on drums and it just took off. It’s just so fun to play music sometimes, and I feel like on this album there were a lot of those times. He had a really cool guitar sound going for me so it just felt good.”
Jones will be making several TV appearances around the album release including performances on NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (March 6), NBC The Today Show (March 8), and CBS Saturday Morning (March 9). She has also announced her Summer 2024 North American tour dates which kick off in late June and include sets at the Montreal International Jazz Festival (July 2) and Chicago’s Ravinia Festival (July 14), as well as shows in Seattle (Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater, July 29), San Francisco (The Masonic, August 3), and Los Angeles (The Greek Theatre, August 4). Ticket pre-sales begin February 27 with a general on-sale March 1. See below for a list of dates and visit norahjones.com for more info.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “STARING AT THE WALL”
Visions is a 12-song set that finds Jones singing about feeling free, wanting to dance, making it right, and acceptance of what life brings. It’s the yang to the yin that was Pick Me Up Off The Floor, Jones’ last album of new original songs which was released early in the pandemic lockdown of 2020 and foreshadowed many of the dark emotions of that period.
“The reason I called the album Visions is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep.” says Jones. “We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon was playing drums and we were just jamming on stuff. I like the rawness between me and Leon, the way it sounds kind of garage-y but also kind of soulful, because that's where he's coming from, but also not overly perfected.”
Michels played saxophone in Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and has performed with Lee Fields & The Expressions, Dan Auerbach’s band The Arcs, Menahan Street Band, and his own project El Michels Affair. Michels and Jones first collaborated on the single “Can You Believe” and later worked together on Jones’ 2021 holiday album I Dream of Christmas. Visions also features contributions from trumpeter Dave Guy, bassist Jesse Murphy, and drummers Brian Blade and Homer Steinweiss.
Visions is available for pre-order now, with formats including indie record store exclusive orange blend vinyl featuring an alternate cover, Barnes & Noble exclusive teal blend vinyl, as well as a Target exclusive CD with the bonus track “Until My Heart is Found” and poster.
NORAH JONES – 2024 TOUR DATES:
May 6 – MGM Music Hall at Fenway – Boston, MA
May 7 – Bardavon 1869 Opera House – Poughkeepsie, NY
May 10 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
May 13 – Kennedy Center Concert Hall – Washington, DC
May 15 – The Met Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA
May 16 – Brooklyn Paramount – Brooklyn, NY
May 17 – Brooklyn Paramount – Brooklyn, NY
May 19 – Apollo Theater – New York, NY
May 26 – BottleRock Napa Valley – Napa, CA
June 27 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
June 29 – Ottawa Jazz Festival – Ottawa, ON
June 30 – Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival – Saratoga Springs, NY
July 2 – Festival International de Jazz de Montréal – Montreal, QC
July 5 – CMAC – Canandaigua, NY
July 6 – Artpark Main Stage – Buffalo, NY
July 8 – Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts – Pittsburgh, PA
July 10 – Rose Music Center at The Heights – Huber Heights, OH
July 11 – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH
July 13 – Kresge Auditorium – Interlochen, MI
July 14 – Ravinia Festival – Highland Park, IL
July 22 – Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater – Vail, CO
July 23 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
July 25 – Sandy Amphitheater – Sandy, UT
July 26 – Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden – Boise, ID
July 27 – Wine Country Amphitheater – Walla Walla, WA
July 29 – Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater – Seattle, WA
July 30 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver, BC
August 1 – The Cuthbert Amphitheater – Eugene, OR
August 3 – The Masonic – San Francisco, CA
August 4 – The Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
August 6 – The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park – San Diego, CA