Kevin Breit said yes to Norah Jones before he even heard a note. The local jazz guitarist was approached by Jones in 2001 at New York's Knitting Factory Club, where he was playing with his band Supergenerous.

"She had just been signed to Blue Note, and she liked this record I had played on, Cassandra Wilson's New Moon Daughter, so she asked me to play on her first record," Breit recalls on the phone from his home in Elora, Ont. Upon hearing her demos, Breit says he thought Jones was "pretty heavy."

"I drove to the studio listening to her music and I loved her voice, but also the piano," he says. "When I found out it was her playing and singing, I was floored."

For her part, Jones calls Breit "a huge part of the band." Breit plays on both of her albums, and toured with the singer to support her debut, Come Away With Me, but decided to sit out the current tour to spend more time with his family.

"It was really hard to find somebody to replace him," Jones says. "But he's coming down to Nashville to record our new live DVD. He's still part of the family."

Breit has three records in the works, two with his band Sister Euclid and a solo disc entitled Burnt Bulb On Broadway, due in October. He can be seen playing jazz, rock and more every Monday night at the Orbit Room on College, where Sister Euclid holds a residency.