Nojogigs | (LASZLO) November 1998 - Early 1999 - Denton, TX | Norah Jones Recording Sessions History

NORAH JONES RECORDING SESSIONS HISTORY: (LASZLO) November 1998 – Early 1999

Blevins Home Studio, Denton / The Panhandle House Studio, Denton, TX

Band Members: Norah Jones (vocals), Jerome Covington (guitar), Aaron Crouch (keyboard, vibraphone), Marc Rogers (bass), & Bill Campbell (drums)

Producers: Jerome Covington & Aaron Crouch

Engineers: Roger Blevins & Erik Herbst

Set:

§ [O] Beloved

§ [O] As We Fall

§ [O] Traces

§ [O] Song For Samuel

§ [O] Wait

§ [O] In A Whisper

§ [O] Your Head’s Too Big (Mind’s Too Small)

§ [O] Freak

§ [O] Butterflies

Best available sources:

Source	Tracks Featured	Notes
LASZLO	All	Released in 1999 independently, distributed at shows and via mp3.com website. Out-of-print.
Butterflies	All	Released in 2007 independently, distributed via CDBaby.com and I-Tunes. Several tracks remastered by Covington.

Notes: Norah Jones' first known studio recording.

Norah was a student at the University of North Texas, located in Denton, when she and members of the local band “The Great Escape,” who also attended the school, decided to form this “dark, jazzy rock band” in 1998. Jerome Covington, guitarist of the band, had been looking to set some of his music to lyrics, and so Norah was chosen as the band’s vocalist (the sole album released under the moniker “The Great Escape” has no vocals) (1). While the “dark, jazzy” (2) quote credited to Norah is more or less accurate, a funk influence is also apparent in a few of the songs.

After playing a few gigs in the North Texas area between September and November of that year, the group proceeded to head to the home of renowned local jazz musician Roger Blevins, who allowed the use of his personal studio as LASZLO laid down some of the tracks for their release over the next two months (3).

The record was completed at The Panhandle House, a studio near the University that is the “abode” of music producer/engineer Erik Herbst (3). On the website for The Panhandle House, Herbst says he “strives to foster a relaxed creative atmosphere where artists are free to try new approaches and techniques in a supportive environment. They will find opportunities to improve their musical skills through collaboration with other artists and musical talent. In addition, they are freed of the usual production worries which are all ably handled by The Panhandle House." (4)

These two sessions gave rise to the tracks that make up the self-titled release from this group, which appears to have been available to purchase solely through the band’s now-defunct mp3.com website (and perhaps through concerts as well). Consequentially the album went out of print with the December 2003 closing of the original mp3.com.

Presumably, the band came prematurely to an end after Norah's summer trip-turned-move to New York City in 1999. Three years later, Covington, Campbell, and previous bassist Mike Davis followed and decided to resurrect LASZLO in New York City, with a new vocalist (5). The band has released two albums since, and is still active today.

In 2006 Covington indicated that the album, with some re-mixed and re-mastered tracks would be re-released sometime in 2006. (3) After some delay, in July 2007 the tracks were released as Butterflies, with new cover art from Melanie Gomez, who also did the cover art for the deluxe edition of Norah’s Not Too Late.

Many thanks go to Jerome Covington, the founder of The Great Escape/LASZLO, for kindly shedding light on the details of this first studio session.

1.) Covington, Jerome: Official Laszlo Home Page: http://www.jeromecovington.com/laszlo/index.htm (2006)

2.) Norah Jones Official Biography: www.bluenote.ca/norah_jones/artist.asp (2006)

3.) Covington, Jerome: Private Correspondence (2006)

4.) Herbst, Erik: Official Panhandle House Website: http://www.panhandlehouse.com/vision.htm (2006)

5.) Gasparro, Danielle: Official Website www.daniellegasparro.com/dgthedayyouleftinfo.htm (2006)