Norah Jones balances subtle and sleepy at Louisville Palace

Norah Jones(Photo: Courtesy Danny Clinch)

Norah Jones' reputation for leaning on a simmering mellowness hasn't always been an accurate take. She's snapped the mold on a few albums, most notably on "The Fall" and "Little Broken Hearts," but Friday night at the Louisville Palace she was definitely in a low-key state of mind.

Part of the reason is her latest album, "Day Breaks," which is widely considered a return to the style Jones made famous in 2002 with "Come Away With Me," one of history's best-selling albums. That style – piano ballads that alternate between sultry and sleepy – dominated Friday's show, sometimes to a fault.

The first half of the show was taken at a consistently mid-tempo pace and threatened to turn dull, but Jones has a not-so-secret weapon that never failed to light a fire: her voice. If anything, Jones is a far better singer now than when she started and her gorgeous expressiveness Friday night was capable of both subtlety and power.

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As the show started to loosen up, with Jones leaving the piano for a run of songs on guitar and organ, her voice was the thread that tied it all together. For much of the show's second half, she and her band explored rock, country, and even a hint of slow-burn jazz thanks to a guest spot from Louisville saxophonist Jacob Duncan, a longtime friend of Jones.

The most extreme moments, at least by Norah standards, came on "Burn," the song that Duncan elevated with a dazzling solo that paid homage to John Coltrane, and "Stuck," which turned unhinged when guitarist Jason Roberts unleashed his inner Neil Young. It got so unhinged, in fact, that the world's quietest drummer, Greg Wieczorek, knocked over part of his kit.

It's tempting to wonder if Jones shouldn't indulge in more of those moments but there's no denying that her voice and strong piano playing are perhaps most commanding on slower blues-based jazz numbers such as "It's A Wonderful Time For Love." While songs such as that one are technically as mellow as anything on "Come Away With Me," Jones gets some heat in her voice when she starts to swing, and everything's better with a little heat.

Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at 502-582-4160 and jpuckett@courier-journal.com.