December 11, 2025 • 8 mins
Norah Jones has a mountain of Grammys, and makes music that appeals to everyone. She has a new podcast, NORAH JONES IS PLAYING ALONG. She tells Bret about her inspiration for the series. Then, Nathaniel Rateliff, Colorado Hero singer-songwriter-bandleader checks in to talk about some nice personal news and his holiday shows in Denver.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm back. We're back. It's the Brett Sounders podcast. Thanks
for being here. My name is Brett. This week two
Baffo guests. First up, Norah Jones joins me, followed by
Nathaniel Ratelift, Colorado hero. Norah Jones, the multiple Grammy winner
as well as singer, songwriter, excellent pianist. As a new
podcast playing.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Along, I'm good, how are you doing?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
And thank you for your music? I was thinking about
how you universally make everybody happy. You're the pluribyss of music.
That's what you are.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well that day. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
There's this great new podcast it's called Norah Jones is
Playing Along and I watched the episode last night with
Jason Izbull. This is a show, Norah Jones, a show,
a podcast. I think more of a show and then
a podcast because of the video aspect. Everybody's got to
see this thing, right. Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I've really had a lot of fun doing it. It's
a fun show.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah. How did this come together? Because you sit down
with a bunch of different artists, one artist per episode,
sit at your piano, and then you do an interview
and simultaneously play great music. Was this your brainchild?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I think it started somewhere before the pandemic, and then
it got postponed for a long time. But I think
the idea came from listening to this old show on
NPR growing up called Mary att Partland was with jazz
pianner player from England, and she had a show called
Piano Jazz where she sat with other jazz piano players
(01:36):
with two pianos and they just talked and they played
songs and it kind of started from that. So yeah,
I think it's less of an interview than it is
just two people sort of talking about music. And it's
always surprising to me how different it feels than an
interview feels to me anyway. It just kind of feels
(01:58):
like this intimate, like power hang with our musicians. And
it's especially fun when it's someone I have never crossed
paths with before. A lot of these guests I know,
and then some of them I don't, So it's really
fun to see how people open up when we've never
met before, but it's like we know each other's music
and there's just something there, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I'm glad you brought up Mary and McPartland's Piano Jazz.
I loved that show when I was a kid because
I learned so much. I mean, one week she would
have Cecil Taylor on and then she'd have the Clint
Eastwood on. By the way, it's pretty good at piano.
I guess it's pretty good on that show anyway. Is
this a goal for you, Nora, to present a whole
(02:40):
eclectic spectrum of artists maybe people wouldn't know about, say
Jason is Bull.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
I mean, my goals are pretty loose. I really just
hope that the guests are always, you know, ones that
I really excited to hang with, and if it les
people onto other people's music, that's amazing. But Michael is
just to find an avenue in this life playing music
(03:10):
that's maybe like something new right now and fun for me.
And that's my main goal, to be honest.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
You know, I love your duets. You have a duet
with Stuart Murdoch, Bell and Sebastian from a handful of
years ago. I think it's one of the most beautiful
songs of the twenty first century so far. I also
know you have a brand new holiday song. Am I
getting this right? With Leon Bridges?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah? Yeah, I love collaborating. I feel like collaborating with
people has been sort of the unexpected highlight of my
whole career. You know, it's brought me so much joy.
I've learned so much from other people. I get to
sort of interact with and connect with other musicians, and
it's been really special. So this is just sort of
(03:51):
an extension of that.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I'm very grateful for your music. And again, you make
so many people happy, and I hope that you continue
to do this, and I hope you continue to do
whatever you want because you spread good cheer year round,
not just during the holidays season.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thank you so much, I really appreciated it.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Up next, one of Colorado's greatest musical heroes, Nathaniel Ratelift,
who's been the Night Sweats, is going to be inducted
into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame on December of
the eleventh. I talked with Nathaniel about that induction and
what's going on in his world.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Oh, it's good to be here. Good always did to
be home.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Congratulations are in order. You just got hitched.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
I did you know? It took me a while to
get married, but yeah, we're after eight years of being
together and I finally popped a question.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
So a mission ballroom Wednesday, and Thursday with Mavis Staples
these holiday shows.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Until this year, we're starting the show with us playing
our first record, the first self titled Night Swet's record
in its entirety.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, you don't want to miss this, by the way,
that's one of those albums, that first Nathaniel ratelift in
the Night Sweats self titled album that everybody knows every
song on that album. I mean, how many albums are
there like that? There's the first Cars album. I mean,
you know some Beatles albums.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Oh thanks man, that that means a lot. You know,
I just kind of got lucky Richard Swift help us
put it, put that one together. And you know, I
had collected a bunch of songs and I think I
had about twenty five songs when I went to Richard's
and you know, we picked the ten or eleven that's
alf the best to us at the time. And you know,
(05:29):
your first, your first record, I guess you're coming out record.
You know, you have most of your life to work
on it. And of course I had had other solo records,
but this was the first Night Sweats thing. And yeah,
you know, so following up after that was always tricky,
but you know, I feel really blessed too. Yeah, been
(05:51):
blessed those songs and where it's taken us, and.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, Colorado Music Hall of Fame will be inducting Nathaniel
Ratelift in the Night Sweats on Thursday night, December the eleventh.
That must be nice. I wonder what took him so long, Nathaniel.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Oh Man, Well, you know, I still feel I'm just
surprised to be a part of it. And you know,
I know I'm not young, but I you know, as
you get older, you still think of yourself as young,
and so I was expecting this, you know, well I
wasn't expecting this because I it isn't surprised, but you know,
I thought that this sort of thing happens, it's always
(06:27):
much later and you know, starting at least ten years
from now.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
How would you reflect on the Denver music scene, how
it's changed in the last decade since that first Nathaniel
eight Lifting the Night Sweats album came out, Because it
really is a different world. You know.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
I used to be so in the midst of it
and just always at the clubs and bars, and now
I'm always on tour, so it's hard to stay in
touch with what's actually happening in Denver. But you know
the years I've watched it changed and so many talented acts. Yeah,
(07:02):
you just see some of the best shows you could see.
And these you know, clubs like the High Dive and
Larimer Lounge and Lions Layer and fifteen Street Twarn and
you know the Fox Theater and Boulder and you know,
just lots of there's there's so many other clubs and
places we've played, and I've watched other great shows happen.
And for art to exist, for songs to the existence,
(07:25):
for people to take part and come together and listen together,
I think those are important spaces and I hope they
all stay protected to you know.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Nathaniel Ratelift, congratulations and all your success and double congratulations
on your wedding. What an exciting time to be Nathaniel Ratelift.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Thanks Brett. Yeah, it's been a good year, so hopefully
there'll be more good years to come.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Thank you, Nathaniel, and thank you for listening. I'm Brett Sanders.
Drop me a line Brett B. R e T at
kbco dot com. You can also find me on social
media if you're into that sort of thing. I'll see
you next week.
I'm back. We're back. It's the Brett Sounders podcast. Thanks
for being here. My name is Brett. This week two
Baffo guests. First up, Norah Jones joins me, followed by
Nathaniel Ratelift, Colorado hero. Norah Jones, the multiple Grammy winner
as well as singer, songwriter, excellent pianist. As a new
podcast playing.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Along, I'm good, how are you doing?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
And thank you for your music? I was thinking about
how you universally make everybody happy. You're the pluribyss of music.
That's what you are.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well that day. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
There's this great new podcast it's called Norah Jones is
Playing Along and I watched the episode last night with
Jason Izbull. This is a show, Norah Jones, a show,
a podcast. I think more of a show and then
a podcast because of the video aspect. Everybody's got to
see this thing, right. Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I've really had a lot of fun doing it. It's
a fun show.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah. How did this come together? Because you sit down
with a bunch of different artists, one artist per episode,
sit at your piano, and then you do an interview
and simultaneously play great music. Was this your brainchild?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I think it started somewhere before the pandemic, and then
it got postponed for a long time. But I think
the idea came from listening to this old show on
NPR growing up called Mary att Partland was with jazz
pianner player from England, and she had a show called
Piano Jazz where she sat with other jazz piano players
(01:36):
with two pianos and they just talked and they played
songs and it kind of started from that. So yeah,
I think it's less of an interview than it is
just two people sort of talking about music. And it's
always surprising to me how different it feels than an
interview feels to me anyway. It just kind of feels
(01:58):
like this intimate, like power hang with our musicians. And
it's especially fun when it's someone I have never crossed
paths with before. A lot of these guests I know,
and then some of them I don't, So it's really
fun to see how people open up when we've never
met before, but it's like we know each other's music
and there's just something there, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I'm glad you brought up Mary and McPartland's Piano Jazz.
I loved that show when I was a kid because
I learned so much. I mean, one week she would
have Cecil Taylor on and then she'd have the Clint
Eastwood on. By the way, it's pretty good at piano.
I guess it's pretty good on that show anyway. Is
this a goal for you, Nora, to present a whole
(02:40):
eclectic spectrum of artists maybe people wouldn't know about, say
Jason is Bull.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
I mean, my goals are pretty loose. I really just
hope that the guests are always, you know, ones that
I really excited to hang with, and if it les
people onto other people's music, that's amazing. But Michael is
just to find an avenue in this life playing music
(03:10):
that's maybe like something new right now and fun for me.
And that's my main goal, to be honest.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
You know, I love your duets. You have a duet
with Stuart Murdoch, Bell and Sebastian from a handful of
years ago. I think it's one of the most beautiful
songs of the twenty first century so far. I also
know you have a brand new holiday song. Am I
getting this right? With Leon Bridges?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah? Yeah, I love collaborating. I feel like collaborating with
people has been sort of the unexpected highlight of my
whole career. You know, it's brought me so much joy.
I've learned so much from other people. I get to
sort of interact with and connect with other musicians, and
it's been really special. So this is just sort of
(03:51):
an extension of that.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I'm very grateful for your music. And again, you make
so many people happy, and I hope that you continue
to do this, and I hope you continue to do
whatever you want because you spread good cheer year round,
not just during the holidays season.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thank you so much, I really appreciated it.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Up next, one of Colorado's greatest musical heroes, Nathaniel Ratelift,
who's been the Night Sweats, is going to be inducted
into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame on December of
the eleventh. I talked with Nathaniel about that induction and
what's going on in his world.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Oh, it's good to be here. Good always did to
be home.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Congratulations are in order. You just got hitched.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
I did you know? It took me a while to
get married, but yeah, we're after eight years of being
together and I finally popped a question.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
So a mission ballroom Wednesday, and Thursday with Mavis Staples
these holiday shows.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Until this year, we're starting the show with us playing
our first record, the first self titled Night Swet's record
in its entirety.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, you don't want to miss this, by the way,
that's one of those albums, that first Nathaniel ratelift in
the Night Sweats self titled album that everybody knows every
song on that album. I mean, how many albums are
there like that? There's the first Cars album. I mean,
you know some Beatles albums.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Oh thanks man, that that means a lot. You know,
I just kind of got lucky Richard Swift help us
put it, put that one together. And you know, I
had collected a bunch of songs and I think I
had about twenty five songs when I went to Richard's
and you know, we picked the ten or eleven that's
alf the best to us at the time. And you know,
(05:29):
your first, your first record, I guess you're coming out record.
You know, you have most of your life to work
on it. And of course I had had other solo records,
but this was the first Night Sweats thing. And yeah,
you know, so following up after that was always tricky,
but you know, I feel really blessed too. Yeah, been
(05:51):
blessed those songs and where it's taken us, and.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, Colorado Music Hall of Fame will be inducting Nathaniel
Ratelift in the Night Sweats on Thursday night, December the eleventh.
That must be nice. I wonder what took him so long, Nathaniel.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Oh Man, Well, you know, I still feel I'm just
surprised to be a part of it. And you know,
I know I'm not young, but I you know, as
you get older, you still think of yourself as young,
and so I was expecting this, you know, well I
wasn't expecting this because I it isn't surprised, but you know,
I thought that this sort of thing happens, it's always
(06:27):
much later and you know, starting at least ten years
from now.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
How would you reflect on the Denver music scene, how
it's changed in the last decade since that first Nathaniel
eight Lifting the Night Sweats album came out, Because it
really is a different world. You know.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
I used to be so in the midst of it
and just always at the clubs and bars, and now
I'm always on tour, so it's hard to stay in
touch with what's actually happening in Denver. But you know
the years I've watched it changed and so many talented acts. Yeah,
(07:02):
you just see some of the best shows you could see.
And these you know, clubs like the High Dive and
Larimer Lounge and Lions Layer and fifteen Street Twarn and
you know the Fox Theater and Boulder and you know,
just lots of there's there's so many other clubs and
places we've played, and I've watched other great shows happen.
And for art to exist, for songs to the existence,
(07:25):
for people to take part and come together and listen together,
I think those are important spaces and I hope they
all stay protected to you know.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Nathaniel Ratelift, congratulations and all your success and double congratulations
on your wedding. What an exciting time to be Nathaniel Ratelift.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Thanks Brett. Yeah, it's been a good year, so hopefully
there'll be more good years to come.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Thank you, Nathaniel, and thank you for listening. I'm Brett Sanders.
Drop me a line Brett B. R e T at
kbco dot com. You can also find me on social
media if you're into that sort of thing. I'll see
you next week.
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