Norah Jones: Minimalist, low-key and all grown up

The petite, gauzy-voiced chanteuse Norah Jones and her country/folk group, The Handsome Band, imbued almost every piece with a different, carefully crafted ensemble texture Friday night at McCaw Hall.

That diversity, along with her new, political material and a much easier stage presence showed how much Jones has changed and grown since her 2002 debut, "Come Away With Me," made her a huge star.

Certainly, she was low-key, as always, and a hot microphone mix sometimes made it difficult to pick out lyrics — but this was, overall, a satisfying show.

Dressed in jeans and T-shirt (which she exchanged for a polka-dot, sleeveless blouse after intermission), Jones sang tunes from her new album, "Not Too Late," as well as old favorites.

Chatting and joking, shifting from grand piano bench to guitar to stand-up vocals, Jones started a running gag at one point about the name of the hall, crowing "Mc-Caw! Mc-Caw!"

A minimalist master who can evoke a mood with just a few notes, Jones' three-word chorus on "Wish I Could," expressed regret with the same concision "Come Away With Me," "Sunrise" and "Don't Know Why," all of which she also sang, evoked yearning, wonder and confusion.

The band — Adam Levy, guitar; Lee Alexander, bass; Andrew Borger, drums; and Daru Oda various instruments — embedded her vocals beautifully, from the atmospheric electronics of "Not My Friend" to the country-fried grace notes of "Thinking About You," and the train-song drive of "Creep On In."

The crowd approved of Jones' politics, cheering the Brecht/Weill madness of "Sinking Ship" and the caustic lament, "My Dear Country," aimed at President George W. Bush.

Jones torchy voice on the mysterious, new "Until the End" and the whispered, catch-in-the-throat yearning of "Rosie's Lullaby also shone.

Jones started out with no fanfare, singing with her opening act M.Ward, a Portland singer-songwriter who played great guitar but had an oddly slippery vocal presence.

But the real support star was Oda, who sang backup, whistled (on "Little Room"), played bass, harmonium, percussion and even alto flute.

After the final encore on her huge hit "Don't Know Why," Jones leaned back, looked out at crowd from the piano bench and gave a languid, winking smile, as if to say, "I'll be back."

Indeed, she will. She's an evergreen.

Paul de Barros: 206-464-3247 or pdebarros@seattletimes.com