Norah Jones – Day Breaks (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 48:55 minutes | 1,01 GB | Genre: Jazz, pop
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Artwork: Front cover | © Blue Note Records
One of music’s most beautiful and critically acclaimed voices returns with a new studio album that finds her returning to her jazz roots. The album is a kindred spirit to the singer’s breakout debut Come Away With Me and finds the 9-time Grammy-winner returning to the piano and her roots. The album features jazz luminaries including her Blue Note label mates saxophonist Wayne Shorter, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, and drummer Brian Blade on a 12-song set that presents 9 new originals alongside covers of songs by Horace Silver, Duke Ellington and Neil Young.
Norah Jones took liberty with her blockbuster success to set out on a musical walkabout, spending a good portion of the decade following 2004’s Not Too Late experimenting, either on her own albums or on a variety of collaborations. Day Breaks, released four years after the atmospheric adult alternative pop of the Danger Mouse-produced Little Broken Hearts, finds Jones returning home to an extent: it, like her 2002 debut Come Away with Me, is a singer/songwriter album with roots in pop and jazz, divided between originals and sharply selected covers. Such similarities are immediately apparent, but Day Breaks is much slyer than a mere revival. That term suggests a slight air of desperation, but Jones comes from a place of confidence on Day Breaks, happy to demonstrate everything she’s learned over the years. Often, these tricks are deliberately sly: she’ll pair her torchy original “And Then There Was You” with a woozy, bluesy cover of Neil Young’s “Don’t Be Denied” that winds up evoking Come Away with Me, then follow that up with the dense, nocturnal rhythms of “Day Breaks.” She threads in versions of Horace Silver’s “Peace” and Duke Ellington’s “African Flower” while inviting saxophonist Wayne Shorter and organist Lonnie Smith in to play – moves that signal that there’s a strong, elastic jazz undercurrent to Day Breaks that means this record breathes more than her debut. Such a sense of quiet adventure gives the record depth, but what gives it resonance are the exquisitely sculpted songs. Jones’ originals feel as elegant as time-honored standards, and all her covers feel fresh. The former speak to her craft, the latter to her gifts as a stylist, and the two combine to turn Day Breaks into a satisfying testament to her ever-evolving musicianship.
Tracklist:
01 – Burn
02 – Tragedy
03 – Flipside
04 – It’s A Wonderful Time For Love
05 – And Then There Was You
06 – Don’t Be Denied
07 – Day Breaks
08 – Peace
09 – Once I Had A Laugh
10 – Sleeping Wild
11 – Carry On
12 – Fleurette Africaine (African Flower)
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