By Christopher John Farley
Singer and pianist Norah Jones, whose 2002 solo album "Come Away
with Me" sold more than 11 million copies, has decided to share the
spotlight for her new album.
The Grammy Award-winning Ms. Jones has formed a country-roots
trio called Puss N Boots, along with her friends singer-drummer
Sasha Dobson and bassist-singer Catherine Popper.
The debut album from Puss N Boots, titled "No Fools, No Fun," is
out July 15 from Blue Note Records, which is owned by Vivendi SA's
Universal Music Group. The album features original compositions
from each member of the band as well as covers of songs made famous
by Neil Young, George Jones, Johnny Cash and others.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, Ms. Jones's most-recent solo
album, the 2012 release "Little Broken Hearts," has sold more than
448,000 copies. Ms. Jones's two albums with another band, the
Little Willies, sold 176,000 copies and 39,000 copies.
About seven years ago, Ms. Jones and Ms. Dobson began playing in
small venues in Brooklyn, N.Y., to practice guitar, and the pair
were later joined by Ms. Popper. After several years of occasional
performances, "We finally decided, 'Wow, we kinda sound like a band
finally after all this time; let's make a record,' " Ms. Jones said
in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Ms. Dobson has released solo jazz recordings, and Ms.Popper has
played with rockers Jack White, Ryan Adams and others.
Ms. Dobson said that the fact that Ms. Jones is much more famous
than her band mates hasn't thrown off the group's chemistry. "It's
challenging when there are three people making decisions that
normally one person makes," Ms. Dobson said, adding "in some ways
it's so much better because it's less pressure."
Zach Hochkeppel, senior vice president of marketing at Blue Note
Records, said that Puss N Boots is taking a grass-roots approach to
finding an audience, and the band is playing venues that are far
smaller than the places Ms. Jones would book as an established solo
artist. He said he doesn't expect country radio to feature the
band, since the format is more focused on pop acts, but he plans to
court open-minded country music websites. "We're really going after
a subset of Norah's audience," Mr. Hochkeppel said.
Side projects like Puss N Boots offer opportunities to stretch
creatively, according to Ms. Jones. "For me, I like to play
music--rather than waiting around between solo projects," Ms. Jones
said. "I love playing with my friends, I wouldn't be playing guitar
if it wasn't for this band. It's just fun to make music with a
variety of people."
To watch three live video performances by Puss N Boots at the
WSJ Café, follow @WSJCafe
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires