Harry Connick Jr. was a pianist, singer and songwriter. And a composer, arranger and cultural ambassador. And an actor, humanitarian and philanthropist. The list went on and on and all packaged up with dimples, bright blue eyes, and old fashioned manners. The musician-turned-actor first made a splash in the late 1980s with his retro Big Band sound and velvety crooning, but it was soon apparent that this New Orleans native had a cornucopia of musical styles and talents to offer. He often credited his childhood exposure to New Orleans’ diverse musical traditions — from Dixieland marching bands to jazz clubs to the plethora of local blues, soul and R&B royalty like Allan Toussaint and Lee Dorsey — for making him into the artist he became. Though he spent the second half of his life in New York, he always kept close ties with the New Orleans community, both through the his musical reflections and his outreach efforts to help the troubled city with ongoing housing woes and post-Hurricane Katrina destruction.Harry Connick Jr. was born on Sept. 11, 1967, in New Orleans, LA. His father, Harry Connick Sr., was a New Orleans District Attorney from 1977-2003; his mother a Louisiana Supreme Court Justice. The Connicks also owned a record store and encouraged Harry Jr.’s early love of music very early on — he was only three when he began to learn piano. Fast forward to the ripe old age of six when he was sitting in at jazz clubs on New Orleans’ famed Bourbon Street, and onto age 10 when he entered the recording studio to lay down some Dixieland with a local jazz group. Typically reaching career highpoints about a decade earlier than even the most talented competitors, Connick recorded his first solo album when he was 11. Sadly, he lost one of his great musical supporters at the age of 13, when his mother died of cancer, but he plowed ahead full force, becoming a young protégé of renowned pianists Ellis Marsalis (patriarch of Marsalis jazz family) and piano virtuoso James Booker at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Louisiana’s premier youth arts training center.
Connick moved to New York City after high school, studying briefly at Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music. Within a year of his arrival he landed a deal with Columbia Records, releasing a self-titled album of unaccompanied jazz standards in 1987 and following it up with 1988’s 20, which introduced already-raving critics to his velvety vocal stylings.
Connick’s early albums and his constant gigging around New York jazz clubs quickly earned him a reputation among jazz players and critics, but it was not until director Rob Reiner asked the young talent to compose a soundtrack for his comedy, “When Harry Met Sally” (1989) that Connick’s mass appeal became apparent. The big band-backed collection of pop jazz standards like “It Had to Be You” hit double platinum status, earned him a Grammy for Best Male Jazz Vocalist, turning him into an unlikely retro-styled superstar oft-compared to Frank Sinatra (who referred to him as “the kid”). Continuing in the hyper-warp speed tradition of his career, in 1990 – and at the age of 22 – he released a jazz trio album, Lofty’s Roach Souffle for the esoteric club crowd and also delivered croon-loving audiences a second album of standards for which he earned a second Grammy. Before heading out on a two-year tour, Connick found time to break into acting, his dapper American aesthetic being an appropriate fit for the World War II drama, “Memphis Belle” (1990).
Connick continued to release an album a year throughout the decade, pleasing pop audiences with albums like When My Heart Finds Christmas(1993), To See You (1997), and Come by Me (1998), while broadening his scope with funk albums She (1994) and Star Turtle (1995) and a more cerebral recording of solo piano recordings, 25 (1992). He made several contributions to soundtracks, including the Academy Award nominated “Promise You’ll Remember Me” from “The Godfather III” (1991), and “(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name” from “The Mask” (1994).
Broadway seemed a natural next step for multi-talented musician Connick, and in 2000 he wrote the score for the Broadway musical “Thou Shalt Not,” earning his first Tony nomination. He appeared opposite Glenn Close in a TV adaptation of “South Pacific” the following year, in addition to releasing the Grammy-winning Songs I Heard. An instrumental album, another Christmas album, and more crooning followed in quick succession in 2003-04, followed by a pairing with fellow hometown hero Branford Marsalis in 2005. New Orleans would be the central figure in 2007’s Oh My NOLA, a spicy soul/jazz combo platter about the experiences of his hometown during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Several of his life concerts and TV specials were released on DVD, including “The New York Big Band Concert” (1995), the “Harry for the Holidays” TV special (2003), and “A Duo Occasion” (2005), featuring duets with Connick and Branford Marsalis taped at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.
Selling more than 20 million albums by any age – let alone the age of 38 – would seem to reflect a remarkably full schedule for any musician. Connick, however, did so while simultaneously juggling increasingly high-profile acting roles in film and TV. His 1990 acting debut was followed up with a starring role in 1991’s “Little Man Tate,” 1995’s “Copycat,” and the significantly more successful blockbuster, “Independence Day” (1995). He was bumped up to leading role status with the unfortunate flop “Hope Floats” (1998), before finding a TV comedy success with his 4-year long recurring role as Grace Adler’s boyfriend-turned-husband on “Will & Grace” (1998-2006). Connick narrated the 2001 film “My Dog Skip” and NBC’s animated Christmas special “The Happy Elf” (2005), the latter based on a song from an earlier Christmas album. The same year, he returned to Broadway, this time to star in a revival of the 1950s hit “The Pajama Game,” for which he received sparkling reviews and Tony buzz.
Besides his fountain of talent, his swingin’ looks, and his personal charm, Connick stood out above the sea of top entertainers because of his graciousness, generosity and humility. He supported cancer-related causes like the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, for which he helped raise over $2 million dollars. He has also went to great lengths to express gratitude towards the city of New Orleans, claiming that he would have been nothing without its special community and cultural richness. In 1993, Connick and his father founded The Krewe of Orpheus, the first Mardi Gras parade group to allow members of any color or gender to participate. In 1999, he began a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, announcing an initiative to combat substandard housing with a symbolic “jazz funeral” for a dilapidated house.
Most noteworthy of all, in the fall of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina toppled levies and buried New Orleans under water, he was on the scene days before the National Guard arrived. A feat not lost by TV viewers at home, as he waded through water at great personal risk. He appeared on “The Today Show” (NBC, 1952- ) and CNN days in row, baffled and frustrated that he was able to drive right into town and literally give victims the shirt off his back, yet no government agencies seemed able to land a helicopter and bring water and supplies. NBC nightly news made him into a special correspondent, and Connick’s voice grew hoarse, as day after day, he called out to TV audiences that people were desperate and dying, repeating over and over again “these are good people.”
On September 2nd, Connick helped organize a live NBC broadcast telethon, enlisting the talents of Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kanye West and others to generate over $50 million dollars for relief agencies. He was made honorary chair of Habitat for Humanity’s long-term building plan called “Operation Home Delivery.” And in December, he and Branford Marsalis unveiled plans for “Musician’s Village” – a Habitat program designed to build affordable housing for musicians who had lost their homes. Connick participated in several hurricane relief fund-raising benefit albums in 2005. In 2007, he brought post-Katrina New Orleans into the spotlight again with his tribute to the city and people he loved, with the album, Oh My NOLA. Proceeds from the gospel-tinged single “All These People” went towards the Musician’s Village project.