Norah Jones revealed the title of her upcoming ninth studio album, Visions, on Thursday (Jan. 18), as well as the 12-song collection’s bubbling first single, “Running.” The Blue Note album from the 9-time Grammy winner is due out on March 8 and was recorded with producer/multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels (El Michels Affair, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings), who also co-wrote the single, on which he plays drums and baritone sax.
“From the first time I felt the click in my heart/ I keep running, oh I keep running away/ Try to sleep but the aching tears me apart/ I keep running, oh I keep running away,” Jones sings breathily on the slow-rolling, meditative pop tune spiked with her signature piano playing.
“The reason I called the album Visions is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep, and ‘Running’ was one of them where you’re half asleep and kind of jolted awake,” Jones said in a statement that describes the album as “vibrant and joyous,” while tapping into “feeling free, wanting to dance, making it right, and acceptance of what life brings.”
In her statement, Jones added, “We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon was playing drums and we were just jamming on stuff. I like the rawness between me and Leon, the way it sounds kind of garage-y but also kind of soulful, because that’s where he’s coming from, but also not overly perfected.”
Visions is the follow-up to Pick Me Up Off the Floor, Jones’ last album of new songs, which was released early in the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
In addition to the album, Jones also announced the dates for her 9-show 2024 spring East Coast U.S. tour, which is slated to kick off with a May 6 show at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston and wind down on June 30 on the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Watch the “Running” video and see Jone’s tour dates and the Visions track list below.
Visions track list:
“All This Time”
“Staring at the Wall”
“Paradise”
“Visions”
“Running”
“I Just Wanna Dance”
“I’m Awake”
“Swept Up in the Night”
“On My Way”
“Alone With My Thoughts”
“That’s Life”
Spring 2024 U.S. tour dates:
May 6 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
May 7 – Poughkeepsie, NY @ Bardavon 1869 Opera House
May 10 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
May 13 – Washington, DC @ Kennedy Center Concert Hall
May 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
May 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
May 19 – New York, NY @ Apollo Theater
May 24 – Napa, CA @ BottleRock Napa Valley
June 30 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival
