Come Away With Me (Blue Note, 2002)
It takes skill to turn a sigh into something more compelling, and Jones' debut disc hides all the girders and wires that give this simple presentation its sublime strength. Grace is surely part of the Brooklyn singer's appeal. "One Flight Down" and "Don't Know Why" merely trickle along, but they're gripping. That other Jones girl, Rickie Lee, used to regularly accomplish the same thing with her whispers, and as Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" feathers by to close the disc, it makes a huge impact. Norah understands mood - not everybody does - and from "Nightingale" to "Lonestar," Come Away With Me succeeds on an insightful artist's use of tone and touch.