Norah Jones Visions LP

Visions is a vibrant and joyous 12-song set that finds Norah Jones singing about feeling free, wanting to dance, making it right, and acceptance of what life brings. It's the yang to the yin that was Pick Me Up Off the Floor, Jones' last album of new original songs which was released early in the pandemic lockdown of 2020 and foreshadowed many of the dark emotions of that period.

"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," says Jones. "We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon [Michels, producer and multi-instrumentalist] 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."

Michels played saxophone in Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and has performed with Lee Fields & The Expressions, Dan Auerbach's band The Arcs, Menahan Street Band, and his own project El Michels Affair. Michels and Jones first collaborated on the single "Can You Believe" and later worked together on Jones' 2021 holiday album I Dream of Christmas. Visions also features contributions from trumpeter Dave Guy, bassist Jesse Murphy, and drummers Brian Blade and Homer Steinweiss.

Far from being an album constructed for twilight hours -- a dimly lit excursion into mood music -- Visions is clear and light, its textures vividly articulated and its rhythms mellow and fluid. It's music that feels alive, inhaling and exhaling with a gentle insistence; it's never rushed, never clipped....Visions pulsates softly and sweetly, like a lava lamp slowly shifting colors in the background. The hues aren't hyper-saturated; they're pleasing pastels radiating warmth.