流行爵士小天后諾拉·瓊斯

Norah Jones was born in New York City in 1979. Her mother， Sue Jones， is a nurse and music promoter. Her father， Ravi Shankar， is a legendary and world-famous Indian musician. Shankar became widely known for his association with the Beatles and other Western musicians； he taught Beatles’guitarist George Harrison how to play the sitar， a long-necked Indian stringed instrument， of which Shankar is considered a master. As early as age three， Jones began showing a keen interest in music， closely watching her father when he played his sitar. At age five she began singing in her church choir. She learned to play several instruments in her youth， primarily studying piano.

Shankar and Sue Jones， unmarried when Norah was born， separated when she was still a young child. Sue took her daughter to live in Texas in a suburb of Dallas called Grapevine. Jones lived there for much of her childhood， having no contact with her famous father for ten years. Her musical influences during that time came from her mother’s record collection. She felt especially affected by the works of great jazz， soul， and blues singers. Jones also spent countless hours listening to recordings of musicals such as Cats and West Side Story.1

During her high school years at Dallas’s Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts， Jones explored her developing passion for jazz. On her sixteenth birthday she gave her first solo performance， singing and playing piano at a coffeehouse on open mic night， when anyone brave enough can try his or her hand at performing for the public.2 During that period Jones also played in a band called Laszlo and tried her hand at composing jazz tunes. She earned recognition from the highly respected jazz magazine Down Beat， winning their Student Music Award （SMA） for Best Jazz Vocalist two years running and also winning an SMA for Best Original Composition.

After graduating from high school， Jones enrolled at the University of North Texas. She spent two years there， studying jazz piano3 and giving solo performances at a local restaurant on weekends. She also became reacquainted with her father， and the two developed a close relationship. The summer after her sophomore year Jones decided to head to New York City and try her luck making it as a musician there. Working in a restaurant during the day and performing in downtown clubs by night， Jones felt excited to be part of the city’s jazz scene， rather than just studying music in a classroom. She decided to stay in New York， forming a jazz trio， and also performing with other jazz groups.

On the evening of her twenty-first birthday， Jones gave a performance that connected deeply with a notable member of her audience. Shell White， an employee in the accounting department of the revered jazz label Blue Note， was so struck by Jones’s talents that she arranged for a meeting between the young singer and the label’s CEO， Bruce Lundvall. After meeting Jones and hearing her sing， Lundvall signed her to a record deal on the spot. Lundvall described the essence of Jones’s appeal： “Norah doesn’t have one of those over-the-top instruments. It’s just a signature voice， right from the heart to you. When you’re lucky enough to hear that， you don’t hesitate. You sign it.”

Jones began her relationship with Blue Note by releasing a six-song EP4. When she began recording her debut full-length recording Come Away with Me in May of 2001， Jones showed a preference for a spontaneous style in the studio， aiming to capture the intimate and natural qualities of live performance.

Released in early 2002， Come Away with Me earned positive reviews. Music critics expressed appreciation for her distinctive voice and authentic， understated style. Many critics wrote of Jones as a promising new artist， a refreshing change of pace from the slick5 packaging of pop stars. Come Away with Me became so successful that it seemed to be everywhere： on the radio， on television， playing over the public address system in shopping malls. Jones recalled that she heard one of the album’s tracks in an unexpected place： “Once on a plane—you know how they play elevator music6 before you take off？—they played one of the songs.”

The “insanity，” as Jones frequently characterized the buzz surrounding her debut， seemed to reach a peak when the album was nominated for eight Grammy Awards. In February of 2003， the album won all eight awards. Among Jones’s victories were trophies for Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Jones began to feel overwhelmed，“I felt like I was in high school and all the popular kids were in the audience and were， like， ‘What’s she doing up there？’ I felt like I had gone in a birthday party and eaten all the cake before anyone else got a piece.” So she retreated from the spotlight. She preferred the idea of being a member of a group rather than a solo star， “Deep down， in my gut， all I want to be is part of a band.” Jones sought a quiet and low-key lifestyle， unexpected for such a young musician.

When work began on a follow-up album， Feels Like Home， many music-industry insiders speculated that it would take a miracle for the second album to sell as well as the first. Such predictions did not faze Jones. Her primary focus was the music； she was eager to branch out on her second album and explore different styles， having shifted away from jazz and toward country in her listening habits and writing. For Feels Like Home， Jones took a greater role in the songs’ composition， writing or co-writing six of the album’s thirteen tracks. Released in early 2004， Feels Like Home was snapped up by one million buyers in its first week， resulting in an instant rise to the number one position on Billboard’s album chart.

Millions of fans find Jones to be a breath of fresh air in a stale pop landscape. She is a musician who has sought success but not necessarily stardom， and who seems more likely to share the spotlight than grab it for herself. At a time when young pop singers belt out every note with over-the-top passion， Jones opts for subtlety， understanding that a low-key voice stripped to its essence can pack a greater punch than one bellowed out at top volume.7 She may prove to be the most natural singer of her generation.

諾拉·瓊斯1979年出生于紐約市，她的母親蘇·瓊斯是個(gè)護(hù)士兼音樂(lè)愛好者，她的父親拉維·香卡是個(gè)傳奇人物，一個(gè)世界知名的印度音樂(lè)家。他因與披頭士和其他歐美音樂(lè)家的交往而名聲大振；他教過(guò)披頭士樂(lè)隊(duì)的吉他手喬治·哈里森如何演奏西塔爾琴（一種長(zhǎng)頸印度弦樂(lè)器），香卡被普遍認(rèn)為是演奏西塔爾琴的大師。瓊斯早在三歲時(shí)就開始表現(xiàn)出對(duì)音樂(lè)的濃厚興趣，當(dāng)父親彈奏西塔爾琴時(shí)她總是全神貫注地看著。五歲時(shí)，她開始在教堂的唱詩(shī)班演唱。青年時(shí)期她學(xué)習(xí)演奏了幾種樂(lè)器，主要是學(xué)習(xí)鋼琴。

諾拉出生時(shí)香卡和蘇·瓊斯還未結(jié)婚，而當(dāng)她還是個(gè)小孩兒的時(shí)候，兩人就分開了。蘇帶著女兒來(lái)到得克薩斯州達(dá)拉斯郊外的格雷普韋恩生活。瓊斯大部分童年時(shí)期都生活在那里，和她著名的父親十年來(lái)都沒(méi)有聯(lián)系。那時(shí)，她音樂(lè)方面所受的影響來(lái)自于母親的唱片收藏，特別是受到了著名爵士樂(lè)、靈魂樂(lè)及藍(lán)調(diào)歌手的作品的影響。瓊斯還花大量時(shí)間聽諸如《貓》、《西區(qū)故事》等音樂(lè)劇的唱片。

在達(dá)拉斯布克·華盛頓學(xué)院主修表演和視覺(jué)藝術(shù)的高中時(shí)期，瓊斯挖掘了她對(duì)爵士樂(lè)的熱情。16歲生日時(shí)，她首次獨(dú)自演出，在開麥之夜（任何一個(gè)有足夠勇氣的人都能為公眾表演）在一家咖啡館演唱并演奏鋼琴。那段時(shí)期，瓊斯還在一個(gè)名為“拉佐羅”的樂(lè)隊(duì)里演奏，并嘗試創(chuàng)作爵士樂(lè)曲。她得到了備受尊崇的爵士樂(lè)雜志《重拍》的認(rèn)可，連續(xù)兩年榮獲學(xué)生音樂(lè)獎(jiǎng)最佳爵士樂(lè)歌手獎(jiǎng)，并且獲得了學(xué)生音樂(lè)最佳原創(chuàng)獎(jiǎng)。

高中畢業(yè)后，瓊斯進(jìn)入了北得克薩斯大學(xué)。她在那兒上了兩年學(xué)，學(xué)習(xí)爵士鋼琴，周末就在當(dāng)?shù)匾患也宛^進(jìn)行個(gè)人演唱。她還和父親重新熟悉起來(lái)，建立了親密的關(guān)系。大二的暑假，瓊斯決定前往紐約碰運(yùn)氣，看看是否能成為一名音樂(lè)人。瓊斯白天在一家餐館工作，晚上就在市中心的俱樂(lè)部里演唱，她覺(jué)得很興奮能夠成為紐約爵士樂(lè)界的一部分，而不是只在課堂里學(xué)習(xí)音樂(lè)。她決定留在紐約，組了一支三人的爵士樂(lè)隊(duì)，還會(huì)和其他爵士組合一起演出。

21歲生日晚上，瓊斯進(jìn)行了一場(chǎng)演唱，她的表演深深打動(dòng)了觀眾席中的一位名人。謝爾·懷特——備受尊崇的爵士唱片公司藍(lán)調(diào)會(huì)計(jì)部的一名員工——被瓊斯的才華所吸引，于是她為這位年輕歌手和公司首席執(zhí)行官布魯斯·倫迪沃爾安排了一次會(huì)見。見到瓊斯并聽她演唱之后，倫迪沃爾當(dāng)場(chǎng)與她簽了一份唱片合約。倫迪沃爾描述了瓊斯魅力的精髓：“諾拉沒(méi)有夸張的樂(lè)器，只有獨(dú)特的、發(fā)自內(nèi)心的歌聲，當(dāng)你足夠幸運(yùn)能夠聽到，你不會(huì)猶豫，而會(huì)與她簽約?！?/p>

瓊斯與藍(lán)調(diào)唱片的合作始于一張六支歌曲的密紋唱片。2001年5月開始錄制她的首張全長(zhǎng)專輯《遠(yuǎn)走高飛》時(shí)，瓊斯就展現(xiàn)了對(duì)自然風(fēng)格的偏好，即使是在錄音室也力求抓住現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演唱的那種親密、自然的特質(zhì)。

《遠(yuǎn)走高飛》于2002年初發(fā)行，獲得了一致好評(píng)。音樂(lè)評(píng)論家對(duì)她獨(dú)特的嗓音以及真實(shí)、樸素的風(fēng)格表示贊賞。許多評(píng)論家把瓊斯描述成一個(gè)前途無(wú)量的新星，一個(gè)摒棄了流行樂(lè)明星光鮮包裝的清新轉(zhuǎn)變?！哆h(yuǎn)走高飛》獲得了巨大的成功，似乎到處都在播放她的歌曲：在廣播、電視里甚至在購(gòu)物中心里播放。瓊斯記得她曾在一個(gè)意想不到的地方聽到過(guò)專輯中的一支單曲，“有一次在飛機(jī)上——你知道在飛機(jī)起飛前他們播放的那些乏味的音樂(lè)吧？——他們播放了專輯中的一首歌曲。”

這種“瘋狂”——瓊斯經(jīng)常用這個(gè)詞來(lái)描述她首張專輯所引起的轟動(dòng)——在專輯獲得八項(xiàng)格萊美獎(jiǎng)提名時(shí)，達(dá)到了頂峰。2003年2月這張專輯將這八項(xiàng)大獎(jiǎng)都收入囊中，包括年度最佳專輯獎(jiǎng)和最佳新人獎(jiǎng)。瓊斯開始感到不知所措了，“我感覺(jué)像是在高中一樣，所有受歡迎的學(xué)生都在觀眾席里，說(shuō)‘她在那上面干什么？’我感覺(jué)像是在一個(gè)生日派對(duì)上，在其他人拿到一塊蛋糕之前我就把蛋糕都吃了。”因此她從聚光燈下退開了。她更喜歡成為團(tuán)隊(duì)中的一員，而不是形單影只的明星，“在我內(nèi)心深處，我所渴望的是成為樂(lè)隊(duì)的一部分?！杯偹箤で蟮氖且环N安靜、低調(diào)的生活方式，對(duì)于一個(gè)如此年輕的音樂(lè)人來(lái)說(shuō)，這是人們所想不到的。

第二張專輯《家的感覺(jué)》制作工作開始時(shí)，許多音樂(lè)圈業(yè)內(nèi)人士都猜測(cè)第二張專輯想要像第一張專輯賣得那么好的話則需要依靠奇跡。這些預(yù)測(cè)并沒(méi)有讓瓊斯擔(dān)憂。她的精力主要集中在音樂(lè)上。她渴望在第二張專輯中擴(kuò)大音樂(lè)范圍并探索不同的風(fēng)格，在聽歌和寫歌上從爵士樂(lè)轉(zhuǎn)向了鄉(xiāng)村樂(lè)。為了制作《家的感覺(jué)》，瓊斯在歌曲創(chuàng)作上參與了很多，創(chuàng)作或是共同創(chuàng)作了專輯13首單曲中的六首?！都业母杏X(jué)》于2004年初發(fā)行，第一周就售出一百萬(wàn)張，轉(zhuǎn)瞬間就登上《公告牌》專輯榜的冠軍寶座。

上百萬(wàn)粉絲都發(fā)現(xiàn)瓊斯是陳腐的流行樂(lè)壇中一股清新的空氣。她是一個(gè)追求成功但未必追求明星身份、更愿意分享舞臺(tái)燈光而不是獨(dú)占的音樂(lè)人。在一個(gè)個(gè)年輕流行歌手以過(guò)度的激情拉開嗓門演唱的時(shí)代，瓊斯選擇了細(xì)膩精巧，她知道剝至精髓的低調(diào)歌聲比大聲歌唱更為有力。到最后，她可能會(huì)成為同時(shí)代歌手中最自然純樸的一個(gè)。

Norah Jones

1. Cats：《貓》，是作曲家安德魯·韋伯根據(jù)T. S. 艾略特的詩(shī)集《老負(fù)鼠的貓經(jīng)》及其他詩(shī)歌所編寫的一部音樂(lè)劇。1981年在倫敦首演，是歷史上最成功的音樂(lè)劇之一；West Side Story： 《西區(qū)故事》，講述了曼哈頓西區(qū)的一對(duì)青年男女瑪利亞和托尼的悲劇愛情故事。

2. open mic： 一般指給一些樂(lè)隊(duì)或藝人的自由開放演出時(shí)間；try one’s hand at sth. ： 初試身手。

3. jazz piano： 爵士鋼琴，是一種特制演奏鋼琴，供專業(yè)樂(lè)手演奏爵士樂(lè)使用，特點(diǎn)是手感偏重，低音渾厚飽滿。

4. EP： 即Extended Play的縮寫，意為“慢速唱片，密紋唱片”。每張EP所含曲目量比CD少，一般有三首歌左右，價(jià)位也比CD低。很多公司在給一個(gè)歌手或樂(lè)隊(duì)出專輯前會(huì)發(fā)一張EP，算是投石問(wèn)路，看看市場(chǎng)反應(yīng)。

5. slick： （事物）徒有其表的，華而不實(shí)的。

6. elevator music： 商店或公共場(chǎng)所播放的乏味音樂(lè)。

7. belt out： 拉開嗓門唱，熱情演唱；pack a punch： 擊出有力的一拳；bellow out： 大聲喊叫。