—————————————————— Norah Jones | Houston Press

Norah Jones

Don't lie. The smoky strains of "Come Away with Me" make you want to shoop -- or at least take Norah Jones's hand and let her lead the way. The daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar was thrust upon the world's stage at South by Southwest two years ago, and since then her sleepy-sensual "jazz-informed" torch songs have infiltrated every outlet from MTV to geezer-oriented "music of your life" radio. Unlike her similarly gorgeous and fresh-faced contemporaries on the pop scene, Norah's is not just another pretty face. This Dallas-bred talent is a multi-instrumentalist (mostly piano and guitar) and actually writes her own songs, but it's mainly her pipes that have paved the way. Her languid, buttery vocals can ignite both the heart and the groin, as those who bought her debut, Come Away with Me, soon found out. Word of mouth propelled the album onto Billboard's Top 20 and garnered her almost half as many Grammys (Jones, her debut and people associated with it won a historic eight, including Album of the Year). This week's show, a pairing with folky singer-songwriter Richard Julian, is ideal for new lovers, old lovers looking to rekindle the flame, or anyone, for that matter, looking for a sexy musical slow ride.