"Don't Know Why" is the breakout single from Norah Jones's 2001 debut album Come Away with Me, a record that sold over 27 million copies worldwide and won eight Grammy Awards including Album of the Year. Written by Jesse Harris, the song features Jones on piano with a brief but memorable solo that emerges naturally from the song's gentle, unhurried arrangement. Set at approximately 90 beats per minute in B-flat with a straight-eighth feel, the piano solo unfolds as an organic extension of the vocal performance rather than a traditional jazz improvisation, reflecting Jones's approach of blurring the lines between jazz, pop, folk, and country. Jones studied jazz piano at the University of North Texas before relocating to New York City, where she began performing in the Greenwich Village club scene. Her piano style draws on jazz harmony and touch while serving the song's emotional arc above all else. Producer Arif Mardin crafted a warm, intimate sound for the album, and this track exemplifies that aesthetic, with the piano solo adding a moment of instrumental beauty without disrupting the song's dreamy flow. The song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Record of the Year, establishing Jones as one of the most commercially successful artists to emerge from the jazz world.
