Nora+Jones



media type="youtube" key="aBKcKQHZXks&hl=en" height="355" width="425" Born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar in [|Brooklyn], [|New York City], [|New York], she officially changed her name to Norah Jones at the age of sixteen with the blessings of her parents. The daughter of the sitar maestro [|Ravi Shankar] and Sue Jones, she spent her childhood with her mother, who moved to the [|Dallas] suburb of [|Grapevine], [|Texas], when Jones was four. She attended Colleyville Middle School, followed by a short period at [|Grapevine High School] before transferring to [|Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts] in Dallas. Her only formal vocal training was her stint in the choir at Colleyville and Booker T. Washington. While at Colleyville, she also participated in band and played the alto saxophone. Jones always had an affinity for the music of [|Bill Evans] and [|Billie Holiday], among other 'oldies.' She once said, "My mom had this eight-album Billie Holiday set, I picked out one disc that I liked and played that over and over again." She considers [|Willie Nelson] her idol. Jones began singing in church choirs and took piano lessons as a child. She attended [|Interlochen Arts Camp] during the summers. While at high school, she won the [|DownBeat Student Music Awards] for Best Jazz Vocalist (twice, in 1996 and 1997) and Best Original Composition (1996).[|[2]] Jones matriculated to the [|University of North Texas], where she majored in jazz piano. Classmates included American Idol finalist [|Brandon Rogers] and singer-songwriter David Angerstein. In 1999, two years into the program, Jones left for New York City. Jones was romantically involved with bassist [|Lee Alexander], though the two broke up in January 2008.[|[3]] ||