Epideictic Speech

Speech Communication Coming Away with Norah Jones Nightingale Sing us a song Of a love that once belonged Nightingale Tell me your tale Was your journey far too long? Norah Jones, "Nightingale" (2001) (Attention Strategy: The speaker will sing or quote the preceding lines of Norah Jones' song, "Nightingale," as an introduction to the topic of the speech.

This strategy is optional, and is intended only to provide the audience with a brief overview of Jones' music.) Ladies and gentlemen, the song/following you have heard comes from Norah Jones' single "Nightingale," a self-composed song for her first album, "Come Away with Me," which was released in 2001. Indeed, the nightingale personifies Norah's roller-coaster ride to stardom as one of the best-talented jazz singers for the last two years.

Combining both her characteristically lovely yet strong singing voice and her exquisite Indian-American features, Norah is the epitome of the 'hybridization of cultures' of the world.

Norah's music is a hybrid form of the old and new music generation, combining jazz with the funky rhythm of popular music; bringing the joys of piano playing to the popular music arena, an extraordinary feat for a young woman who has yet to prove her worth as a musician to the incredibly "large music world," as Norah puts it; and bringing her music to all kinds of audiences, be they jazz music lovers or not.

A closer look at Norah's life will give you a clear idea of the incredible achievements and skills of this young woman. Born in 1979 and raised in Grapevine, Texas, it is a known fact among her fans and music lovers that Norah is the daughter of famous sitar player, Ravi Shankar. However, this fact has become public only when she was suddenly propelled into the limelight as a recording star, but Norah literally lived her life doing and studying her greatest passion -- music (jazz music, to be specific).

Growing up with her mother, Sue, in Texas, Norah was already exposed to jazz music, citing the great African-American blues singer Billie Holliday as her favorite and greatest influence. At the early age of five, Norah already possesses the ability to sing and play the piano and saxophone. It is evident that truly, music runs in the blood of this young singer, who, in order to further her skills and knowledge in music, attended school at the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

In school, Norah excelled, having experienced her first gig at age 16, and winning various awards, such as "Best Jazz Vocalist" and "Best Original Composition" awards in 1996 and 1997. These awards highlight Norah's ability not only to perform musical compositions, but also to create and internalize them as well -- providing more depth and quality to the music that she produces and offers to her audience. Her small feats of success in high school continued when she entered college education at the University of North Texas.

In college, Norah started performing her music outside the confines of the university. She started doing gigs and formed her first band, Laszlo, in the late 1990s. Following Laszlo, Norah subsequently became the vocalist for the band Wax Poetic, which was formed in 1999. It is in this endeavor that Norah finally made into the popular (and highly commercial) music scene.

Looking into the life of Norah from her childhood to being a talented singer that she is today, it appears that this singer is a 'prodigy,' an individual who is indeed destined to live the life of a musician, and whose life evolves around music. These assumptions are all true, ladies and gentlemen. Her contemporaries consider Norah as a 'music prodigy,' attributing her skills and extraordinary talent to the world-renowned talents of her father Ravi.

It can be assumed that with her rich musical background and influence (hereditary and biological), music truly runs in the blood of Norah. However, it is also important to note that just like all individuals who want to excel and become superior in their chosen fields of expertise, Norah's success is mainly due to her diligence, and most importantly, her passion and love for music. Music is Norah's passion, and fortunately, music, in return, has returned the young woman's passion in kind.

Armed with her incredibly melodious yet strong voice that is characteristically "Norah Jones-que" and bringing with her genius for composing her own and other people's music, Norah signed a singing contract for Blue Notes Records in 2001. Her first album, aptly entitled "Come Away with Me," is a production of music that truly brings her listeners to 'Norah's world,' mesmerizing us with her beautiful voice, comforting us with her passionate music. The 'Norah Jones effect' had also spread in last year's famous Grammy Music Awards.

Acknowledging this prodigy and genius of a newcomer, Norah won eight awards, winning, among others, citations for Album, Song, and Record of the Year. Norah accepted this incredible achievement (at age 23) with a very simple, yet grateful look at her success in the pop music scene: "I feel really blessed and really lucky to have had the year I had .. " We may have seen her sing and perform for her audience, witnessing her extraordinary talent in singing while capturing her audience with her arresting beauty and presence.

However, only few people know that she has already shown her talent for songwriting, composing the songs "Come Away with Me" (her first album's carrier single) and "Nightingale," which are included in her first album in 2001. Like the lines of the song "Nightingale" I quoted earlier, "Come Away with Me" is a song that explicitly expresses Norah's unique relationship between herself and music: "Come away with me in the night / Come away with me / And I will write you a song ..

" Music has indeed put Norah in the limelight, allowing her to enjoy.