NORAH JONES ENCHANTS CROWD IN BOWL DEBUT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Staff Writer

``We're very happy to be back at the Hollywood Bowl,'' Norah Jones told an appreciative audience early during her Saturday show at the venerable concert venue. ``Actually, my band told me to say that so we wouldn't be so nervous.''

Jones, in fact, had never played the Bowl during a brief, mercurial career that has seen her release two albums that have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. The last time she came to town as a headliner (she was also here in July at the Universal Amphitheatre as part of a Gram Parsons tribute), she played across the Hollywood Freeway at the John Anson Ford Theatre.

But if she and her crack five-piece band had any anxieties, it sure didn't show during a 23-song, 100-minute performance that illustrated just how far Jones has come as a performer in the past couple of years. The beautiful 25-year-old singer spent much of the night front and center, standing behind a microphone and playfully commanding the stage with a relaxed confidence that was a far cry from the almost bashful remove she displayed early in her first tour.

By her own count, Jones expressed disbelief on five separate occasions about actually being at the Bowl before a paying audience of 15,375. She kept having the house lights turned on, as if she needed repeated confirmation that all those people were actually there.

That kind of genuine modesty is particularly striking, given all the critical acclaim and commercial success that has come her way, points to one reason why people connect to Jones. In a pop music era defined by the amount of hype that's heaped on the untalented, this genuine prodigy has managed to ignore all the trappings of instant success, keeping what matters to her - the music - front and center.

Saturday's show at the Bowl generously sampled most of the songs from Jones' two albums, as well as a pair of Parsons covers (the plaintive ``She'' and a goofy, jubilant version of ``Ooh Las Vegas'') and a lively, even goofier take on The Band's ``Life Is a Carnival.''

These numbers were welcome additions since many of Jones' own songs, which pleasingly blend jazz, pop folk and sad-song country, tend to sound rather the same. This uniformity was evident right out of the gate with the first four offerings - ``Nightingale,'' ``Those Sweet Words,'' ``The Prettiest Thing'' and ``What Am I To You?'' (all from the second album) - being defined by an almost identical shuffling pace and pleasant, daydream vibe.

But the concert took a pivotal turn on the fifth song, ``I've Got to See You Again,'' with Jones dropping her ethereal vocal stylings in favor of a bluesy, throaty rumble. Here and on the equally captivating ``In the Morning,'' Jones was aided superbly by guitarist Adam Levy, whose jazzy, minimalist riffs brought to mind John Scofield.

After ``I've Got to See You Again,'' Jones adeptly mixed the sublime (a lovely ``Carnival Town'' with backup singer Daru Oda chiming in on flute) and the soulful (``Above Ground''), with nods to commercial favorites like ``Don't Know Why'' (a song she sang on ``Sesame Street'' with Elmo) and ``Come Away With Me.''

Jones' Handsome Band - including Levy, Oda, drummer Andrew Borger, bassist (and boyfriend) Lee Alexander and a veteran ringer, guitarist Robbie McIntosh - gave all these songs tasteful, empathetic readings. And why not? All of them (save for McIntosh) had a hand in writing them, and Jones made sure you knew that, introducing each number by identifying the songwriter, the way Sinatra would salute Cole Porter before launching into ``Night and Day.''

Just another reason why Jones will likely have the same kind of staying power.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

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