Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos - The Secret Sun

Tied to the Norah Jones juggernaut, Harris—who wrote five songs on her Grammy-sweeping Come Away with Me, including the massive hit “Don’t Know Why”— gets his own major-label debut. Jones returns the favor, joining him on the gentle “What Makes You.” Harris’ songwriting is so steeped in Tin Pan Alley that originals such as “Long Way from Home” sound uncannily like standards. Not a bad thing, but only “You Were On My Mind” (not Sylvia Tyson’s Canfolk classic) has a distinctly contemporary feel.