Harry Connick, Jr. Albums (25)
'What a Night! A Christmas Album'
Release Date 11/4/2008
Tracks 33
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
His third holiday-themed album, 2008's What a Night! A Christmas Album continues vocalist/pianist Harry Connick, Jr.'s tradition of delivering swinging jazz and pop versions of various tinsel tunes new and old. Recorded with a big band and orchestra, this is a terrific collection of songs making the most of Connick's knack for modern-day crooning and rambunctious small-group jazz. There is warmth, sophistication, and urbane romanticism to Connick's work here that should draw well-earned comparisons to similar classic albums by the likes of Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, Nat King Cole, and others. However, rather than sounding like a retro affair, What a Night! delivers on Connick's promise of updating the traditional pop sound of his idols for a contemporary audience. It doesn't hurt, either, that Connick is joined here by a bevy of first-rate musicians, including vocalist Kim Burrell and trombonist/vocalist Lucien Barbarin on two duets, not to mention the stellar backing musicians. Even Kate Connick, Harry's daughter, makes an appearance for a charming duet with her dad on "Winter Wonderland." It's also refreshing to hear a few rambling small-group jazz numbers like "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies," which help remind listeners how nimble and inventive a jazz pianist Connick truly is. More than just a great Christmas album, What a Night! is the type of record you just might find yourself turning to well into the new year. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On a set of mostly unaccompanied piano solos and vocals, Harry Connick, Jr., shows a great deal of potential. His renditions of 11 standards are highlighted by collaborations with singer-organist Dr. John on "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" and especially a memorable vocal duet with Carmen McRae on "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone." In addition, bassist Bob Hurst helps out on "Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me." Years later, this still remains one of Harry Connick, Jr.'s finest recordings. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
'Chanson du Vieux Carre'
Release Date 10/24/2006
Tracks 12
Label Marsalis Music
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What The Critics Say
Chanson du Vieux Carre should simply be titled Harry Connick, Jr.'s New Orleans album. The material chosen for this set is comprised of jazz tunes associated with the Crescent City, or simply tunes Connick wrote about it. According to the liner notes, he arranged it all on his computer while traveling from gig to gig over a period of years. The band performed this material as it was developed, making it part of one set or another night after night for the same period of time. Needless to say, the recording of the album is seamless, celebratory, and polished -- maybe too polished, but that's a minor complaint. Connick does what he does: leads the band, plays a hell of a piano, and wraps it all up tight -- without singing. The set opens with a fine reading of Louis Armstrong's "Someday You'll Be Sorry." The swing is there, but none of the master's killer funky butt grooving; again, that's a minor tiff. Connick's own "Ash Wednesday," with its strange minor-key counterpoint horn lines and a smoking little trumpet solo by Leroy Jones, is one of the finer moments here. The arrangement of Sidney Bechet's "Petit Fleur" is a bit on the reverent side, but it is certainly beautiful. Connick's biggest surprise comes at the very end of the disc when he performs a stellar version of Professor Longhair's "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" big-band style. 'Fess is probably dancing in heaven, because the killer rhythms and brassy horn charts are intercut so well with Connick's piano fills. It's a fine sendoff to the most enjoyable record Connick has done in years. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in the summer of 2005, musician Harry Connick, Jr. was one of the first people to lend not only his celebrity, but also his own two hands in aid to the survivors of the catastrophe. Connick brought a television crew with him as he traveled through his damaged hometown and shot footage to help draw attention to the situation. Soon after, he organized the benefit telethon A Concert for Hurricane Relief on NBC to raise money for the beleaguered residents of New Orleans. It was clear through all of this that Connick truly loved his hometown and perhaps even felt he owed the city a debt for all it had given to him. In that light, though he tastefully underplays his feelings about the tragedy, Connick's Oh, My Nola is clearly his response to Hurricane Katrina. But rather than making a one-note album filled with anger and sadness -- though he expresses those emotions here, too -- Oh, My Nola feels at once like a party-driven celebration of all that is New Orleans and a love letter to the city he almost lost. Featuring songs from, of, and about New Orleans, Oh, My Nola touches on almost every musical style that has come from the city and, in a similar sense, every style Connick has delved into over the years. For that reason it's both his most expansive and personal album to date, and finally finds the pianist/vocalist/arranger coalescing his eclectic tastes in jazz standards, stride piano, funk, Cajun, gospel, and contemporary pop under a unified vision that not surprisingly takes him back to the roots of New Orleans music. To these ends, he turns Allen Toussaint and Lee Dorsey's classic R&B cut "Working in the Coal Mine" into a swaggeringly funky big-band workout. Similarly inventive, he does Hughie Cannon's traditional "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?" as a second-line-inspired big-band swing number reminiscent of his own When Harry Met Sally soundtrack. But while these numbers showcase Connick's obvious talent for arranging and crafting large ensemble numbers, other cuts such as the traditional "Careless Love" reveal his more laid-back, country-inflected barroom piano style that recalls his early solo albums 20 and 25. Mixing this approach, Connick once again returns to Toussaint with the spiritual and motivational "Yes We Can" in a loping and funky, large-ensemble style. Always a student of American popular song, it's no surprise that Connick's original compositions stand up next to the classic tracks here; however, it's also on these originals that he moves toward expressing his anger over what happened to the city. On the half-improvised, stark, and funky "All These People" Connick sings, "I was so damn scared I held hands and wandered with the crazy man, but he wasn't crazy and I wasn't scared/We were just brothers that stood there and stared at all those people waiting there." It's one of the few moments of outright protest on the album and deftly conveys Connick's first-hand account of post-hurricane New Orleans. However, listening to the whole of Oh, My Nola, it becomes clear that the true protest Connick is concerned with is a protest of the soul against events that conspire to erase all that we hold dear. This is best expressed in Connick's own title track. Set to a simple midtempo traditional New Orleans jazz beat, he sings, "How proud would Louie and Mahalia be, to know that their memory was safe with me?/Oh, my Nola, old and true and strong just like a tall magnolia tree/Sit me in the shade and I'm right where I belong/Oh, my New Orleans, wait for me." ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
'Harry on Broadway, Act 1'
Release Date 5/9/2006
Tracks 36
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
Pairing up the 2006 Broadway cast album of The Pajama Game and a newly recorded studio version of the 2001 musical Thou Shalt Not, Harry on Broadway, Act 1 showcases singer/pianist/composer Harry Connick, Jr.'s two forays onto the Great White Way. While Connick did not originally perform in Thou Shalt Not, here he takes on the lead in his adaptation of Émile Zola's novel Thérèse Raquin. A dark romance of adultery and murder, Thou Shalt Not received a mixed critical and public response after it opened, and the tragic events of 9/11 only compounded the problems. Nonetheless, despite a low-key and often melancholy sameness to these songs, Connick's warm vocals and superb piano playing combined with appearances by saxophonist Branford Marsalis makes this version -- there is also 2002's Thou Shalt Not [Original Broadway Cast] -- a winning jazz album. Similarly, Connick's star turn as the lead in Richard Adler and Jerry Ross' classic '50s musical The Pajama Game is a case of brilliant casting and superb talent meeting first-class material. Connick, with his supple vocals and movie star looks, was born to play these kinds of roles, and in some ways he even bests original star John Raitt as Connick is a true jazz vocalist who can imbue these songs with Sinatra-esque flair. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
'Occasion: Connick on Piano, Vol. 2'
Release Date 6/14/2005
Tracks 13
Label Marsalis Music
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What The Critics Say
Harry Connick, Jr.'s Occasion: Connick on Piano, Vol.2, the follow-up to 2003's Other Hours: Connick on Piano, Vol. 1, finds the jazz pianist in an intimate duo setting with saxophonist and Marsalis Music label owner Branford Marsalis. While well known as a jazz vocalist, Connick's intention on these volumes is to focus solely on his abilities as both an instrumentalist and composer. As such, Occasion is a cerebral, intimate, and heartfelt recording with Connick and Marsalis holding musical "conversations" with each other on original songs. In fact, as with Other Hours, which featured songs culled from Connick's 2001 Tony-nominated musical Thou Shalt Not, many of the songs here play as instrumental readings of new American popular songs. Which is to say that Connick has a deft knack for sweet and gorgeous melody. Couple that with Marsalis' and Connick's superb improvisational chops and you get a supremely listenable "occasion" with both musicians feeding off each other's ideas with sensitivity and joy. To these ends, the sprightly and urbane title track written by Marsalis finds the duo swinging '30s style, while "I Like Love More" is a Broadway-worthy ballad evoking a romantic melancholia reminiscent of the best George Gershwin standards. Similarly, the classical-sounding "Steve Lacy" -- also written by Marsalis -- finds the reedman in impressionistic mood on the soprano sax, and "Remember the Tarpon" is a bluesy and darkly humorous off-kilter creeper featuring a Earl Hines-esque ending passage from Connick. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Featuring ballads from the '50s and '60s, Only You finds vocalist/pianist Harry Connick, Jr. further developing his contemporary crooner aesthetic. Having begun his career covering popular songs from the '20s through the '40s, it's surprising that Connick never before explored tunes from the baby boomer era. In some ways, it's almost as if he skipped the period altogether, moving from the '40s to the '70s between 1992's 25, his last jazz standards album, and 1994's She, his move to funk and pop. It was a jarring creative leap that many fans found too far to make with him. It's pleasing then, that Connick has found ways to incorporate his love of the Great American Songbook and straight-ahead jazz in a style that harks back to jazz's golden era without being retro. Only You showcases this, soaring on Connick's sophisticated and classy arrangements of such popular tunes as "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Save the Last Dance for Me," and "More." From his cinematic bossa nova take of "My Blue Heaven," replete with pizzicato string backgrounds, to his inspirational gospel-inflected version of "For Once in My Life," Connick's vision for these classic songs is singular and fresh. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
'Harry for the Holidays'
Release Date 10/28/2003
Tracks 16
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
Ten years after his first holiday-themed album, When My Heart Finds Christmas, pianist/vocalist Harry Connick, Jr. found the spirit again with Harry for the Holidays. Still centered on Connick's vocals, this foray into "tinsel tunes" is more jazz oriented than his 1993 release and allows for his growth as a performer, arranger, and conductor. Like a Brooks Brothers' suit worn at Mardi Gras, Connick's writing for his big band and full orchestra mixes New Orleans rhythms with crisp, swinging arrangements that call to mind '60s Michel Legrand and Quincy Jones. Nothing Connick has done before can quite prepare you for the screaming trumpets and rollicking second-line-style swing of his leadoff take on "Frosty the Snowman." In fact, most of the classic standards here, including "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Silver Bells," get highly unexpected treatments as on "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town," which is worked up into a funky, brass-band "go-go" dance number. Similarly tasty is "I'll Be Home for Christmas," which not only features some of the best crooning the Will and Grace star has ever done, but also a beautifully modest Count Basie-inspired piano solo. There is also an appealing balance to Harry for the Holidays between songs of Christmas nostalgia and heartfelt ruminations on what the season means in a deeper sense. Throw in four original compositions that touch on Scott Walker-esque orchestrated pop, Tin Pan Alley songcraft, and country -- yes, that is the George Jones dueting with Connick on "Nothin' New for the New Year" -- and not only do you have one of the best holiday albums in years, but easily the best album of Connick's career. [Harry for the Holidays was reissued in 2005 as a dual disc CD/DVD with additional audio tracks, video clips and an interview on the DVD side.] ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
'Other Hours: Connick on Piano, Vol. 1'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 12
Label Rounder
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What The Critics Say
Harry Connick, Jr. spent most of the '90s exploring second-line funk, making a name for himself in movies, and generally distancing himself from his classic crooner image. By the late '90s, it seemed as if the pianist/vocalist had lost the plot and it was hard to remember what made him such a phenomenal jazz talent. Then came 1997's romantic orchestral album To See You, followed by Connick's response to the neo-swing movement of the late '90s, Come by Me. Both of these albums featured Connick performing straight-ahead jazz that capitalized on his "American songbook"-style composing abilities and urbane, laconic vocal drawl. It was clear he was finally returning to his jazz roots with mature chops and a modern sophistication all his own. In this spirit, 2003's Other Hours featuring Charles "Ned" Goold on tenor sax, Neal Caine on bass, and Arthur Latin II on drums is Connick's return to playing straight-ahead, all original, modern instrumental jazz. Not since 1990's Lofty's Roach Souffle has the musician-turned-actor attempted this, and maybe he really shouldn't have. That is not to say Other Hours is bad; on the contrary, it showcases the entertainer's finely developed piano chops as well as his engaging compositional style. It's just that to deny such a strong aspect of his talent as his singing in favor of a more "serious" musical endeavor -- i.e., an instrumental jazz album -- is to somehow drain a bit of the fun and romance out of the proceedings. However, Connick's appearance at the Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration concert proved he still had the improvisational knack -- his solo turn sitting next to Ellis Marsalis was easily one of the night's highlights. In fact, the elder Marsalis' influence can be heard throughout the disc, especially on the post-bop set-opener "What a Waste." It's nice to hear the man some once thought of as a Sinatra-wannabe attacking some up-tempo swingers with a bumptious New Orleans glee. It is also refreshing to hear a few of his other influences come to the fore, as the pairing of Goold and Connick on tunes like "How About Tonight" brings to mind the Dave Brubeck quartet with Paul Desmond. Elsewhere, Connick oozes a Gershwin-like melancholy on "My Little World," waxes Thelonious Monk on "Dumb Luck," and delivers the bittersweet "'nuff said" ballad "Can't We Tell." OK, we get it, Harry Connick, Jr. is a legitimate jazz pianist, but one can only assume there are lyrics to some of these songs, and it would have been nice to hear them. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This is a very entertaining session by Harry Connick, Jr., covering his favorite songs from movies and the stage. Although his vocals are the primary focus, he also plays piano, wrote all of the arrangements, and conducted both the orchestra and big band. The film Mary Poppins introduced "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "A Spoonful of Sugar," both of which are recast as lively New Orleans struts, featuring trumpeters (and fellow New Orleans natives) Kermit Ruffins and Leroy Jones, respectively, as well as a lush "Stay Awake," with Connick's vocal backed by strings and brass. Several songs from The Sound of Music are included: a delightful, well-crafted arrangement of "The Lonely Goatherd," the waltzing take of "Edelweiss" with a very formal orchestral setting, and a fun-filled "Do-Re-Mi" that starts off with duet bassist Neal "Sugar" Caine and gradually introduces additional soloists to the mix as the piece progresses until the full big band joins in, and then wraps with several amusing false endings. The Wizard of Oz is the source for the hilarious interpretation of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (primarily an instrumental feature with an imaginative Connick arrangement), a dramatic but nearly over-produced "Over the Rainbow," a campy but obscure song, "The Jitterbug" (which was dropped during the editing of the original film), and a rather laid-back version of "The Merry Old Land of Oz." It's easy to tell that Connick enjoyed making this CD, as the enthusiasm of everyone involved comes across in every track. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
