 With very few exceptions, the career
of
Harry Connick, Jr. can be divided in half -- his first
two albums encompassed straight-ahead New Orleans jazz and
stride piano
while his later career (which paralleled his rising
celebrity status) alternated between more contemporary New
Orleans music and pop vocals with a debt to
Frank Sinatra. Born in New Orleans on September 11,
1967,
Harry Connick, Jr. grew up the son of two lawyers who owned a
record store. After beginning on keyboards at the age of
three, he first performed publicly at six, and recorded with
a local jazz band at ten.
Harry Connick, Jr. attended the New Orleans Center for the Creative
Arts and studied with
Ellis Marsalis and
James Booker. A move to New York to study at Hunter
College and the Manhattan School of Music gave him the
opportunity to look up a Columbia Records executive who had
asked to see him, and
Harry Connick, Jr.'s self-titled album debut -- a set of mostly
unaccompanied standards -- appeared in 1987. Jazz critics
praised
Harry Connick, Jr.'s maturity and engaging style as well as his
extended stays at New York hot spots during the year. His
second album, named for his age in 1988, was the first to
feature him on vocals.
Already well known within jazz circles,
Harry Connick, Jr. entered the American consciousness
with the soundtrack to 1989's popular film When Harry Met
Sally. Director
Rob Reiner had asked
Harry Connick, Jr. to compose a soundtrack, and he recorded several
warm standards ("It Had to Be You," "Let's Call the Whole
Thing Off," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore") with a big-band
backing. A world tour followed, and When Harry Met Sally
eventually reached double-platinum status. With
Harry Connick, Jr. a major celebrity, he diverged into an acting
career, playing a tail gunner in 1990's Memphis Belle. That
same year, he released two albums simultaneously: one, We
Are in Love, was another vocal outing with similar standards
as had appeared on When Harry Met Sally, while Lofty's Roach
Souffle was all-instrumental. (Of course, the vocal album
performed much better in the pop charts, hitting double
platinum, while the instrumentals worked better with jazz
audiences.)
Harry Connick, Jr. toured again, this time with a big band, and
recorded the group on 1991's Blue Light, Red Light. Though
his celebrity decreased slightly during the mid-'90s,
Harry Connick, Jr.'s albums continued to reach platinum status,
including 1992's 25, a 1993 Christmas album, and 1994's She.
Harry Connick, Jr. continued his acting work with a starring role
in 1995's Copycat (where he played a serial killer) and
married actress Jill Goodacre. In 1996, he had a brief role
in the year's biggest blockbuster, Independence Day, but his
album Star Turtle failed to connect with pop audiences. Come
by Me, a return to big band sounds, followed in 1999. In the
new millennium,
Harry Connick, Jr. cycled between albums exploring his jazz roots
and those with songbook standards. Interestingly, post-2001
Harry Connick, Jr. moved between two labels with albums getting
released on both Columbia Records and saxophonist
Branford Marsalis' Marsalis Music label. Among these
were the big band album Only You featuring popular music
from the '50s and '60s and the more intimate releases Other
Hours: Connick on Piano, Vol. 1 (2003) and Occasion: Connick
on Piano, Vol. 2 (2005), which focused on
Harry Connick, Jr.'s instrumental abilities. ~ John Bush, All Music
Guide
Contact Grabow for more information
or to book
Harry Connick, Jr. for your next corporate or private event.
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