Pop/jazz chanteuse Norah Jones comes full circle in this return-to-roots concert filmed in 2017 at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. Backed by Christopher Thomas on various bass instruments and Brian Blade on drums, Jones displays her considerable chops on vocals and piano in a 16-song set dominated by cuts from her 2016 release Day Breaks (including the bonus track "Burn," Jones plays 10 of the album’s 12 songs), an album that found her once again mining the jazz vein that launched her career in 2002’s Come Away with Me. In very brief remarks to the audience, Jones apologizes for not looking their way (she is clearly a bit uncomfortable in this intimate club setting), but she holds them in thrall with her smoky vocals on fine renditions of "Day Breaks," "Don’t Be Denied," a rousing "Flipside," and "Carry On," while authoritatively tickling the ivories on the dazzling Duke Ellington instrumental "Fleurette Africaine." The sparse dip into her pop/rock/country back catalog features stripped-down versions of "After the Fall," "Out on the Road," and "Little Broken Hearts," and she delights the attendees near concert’s end with her early breakout hit "Don’t Know Why." This being a mostly jazz-inflected concert, there are a few wonderful unscripted moments, the most entertaining being when Thomas gives up using a bow on standup bass in favor of his fingers and the band starts over on "Nightingale." Presented in DTS-5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, other extras include an interview with Jones. Sure to appeal to fans of Jones’s jazz work, this is recommended. (R. Pitman)
Norah Jones: Live at Ronnie Scott’s
(2017) 90 min. DVD: $15.98, Blu-ray: $20.98. Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 5
Norah Jones: Live at Ronnie Scott’s
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