Live Review: Norah Jones & Cory Chisel

A flock of giant origami paper cranes hanging from the ceiling and stunningly lit hovered over American songstress Norah Jones as she returned to a Sydney stage for the first time since 2005.

But first up was Cory Chisel, an American folk songwriter, and his musical partner Adriel Danae. Artists like Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan obviously fuelled Chisel's musical upbringing and there was a beautiful cover of Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come. But Chisel was most effective when he was sharing space with Danae. Though Danae seemed the more reserved of the two performers her voice was anything but.

Beginning with the new album duo of Good Morning and then Say Goodbye, Norah Jones and her band filled out the State Theatre with the rich, melodious sounds developed over her almost 15-year career. There was even a brand new, boisterous country rocker, Hey You, that Jones explained she'd only just taught her band.

As she switched between organ, guitar and upright piano, Jones' smoky, torch song voice was flawless. And while many of her fans would've been looking forward to her big early hits, Don't Know Why and Come Away With Me, some of the darker songs from new album, Little Broken Hearts, such as the deliciously evil murder ballad, Miriam, and the cinematic Take It Back showed just how much Jones has developed as an artist over the years.

To conclude the main set, Jones invited Chisel and Danae back for a gorgeous version of Gram Parsons' Hickory Wind and after the break the band unplugged and moved to the front of the stage for an old-time-style performance of Come Away With Me, Sunrise, Sunrise and How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart?, a song Jones wrote from lyrics penned by Hank Williams.

With the cranes hovering above, it was the perfect end to a near perfect show.