Singer/songwriter Norah Jones will move away from jazz roots on her fourth studio album, due in November on Blue Note Records, her label announced today (Aug. 20).
Producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse) is working with Jones on the as-yet-untitled project, which will also feature songwriting contributions from Ryan Adams, Will Sheff of Okkervil River and Jones’ longtime collaborator Jesse Harris, who penned the singer’s breakthrough hit, “Don’t Know Why.”
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“I got in touch with Jacquire initially because he engineered one of my favorite records of all time, Tom Waits‘ ‘Mule Variations,’ ” says Jones in a statement. “He was really eager to do it and we got along really well, which was important.”
Jones is also said to be branching out from her jazz-influenced pop roots on the new material and playing guitar more than piano. The changes suggest that her new material may resemble her work as a member of the alt-country outfit The Little Willies, whose self-titled 2006 album featured Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Fred Rose covers.
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In addition to working with a new producer and songwriters, Jones has switched up her band members. Among the musicians playing on her new recordings are drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) and James Gadson (Bill Withers), keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green), and guitarists Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer).
“I’d been playing with the same musicians for a long time,” says Jones. “We’re all still friendly and I hope we play together again, but it felt like a good time to work with new people and experiment with different sounds.”
Jones’ new album will be her first since 2007’s “Not Too Late,” which sold 1,584,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.