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Back to Biographies Harry Connick, Jr.  First reaching mass audiences as a pianist, singer, and bandleader, Harry Connick, Jr., has secured his place in the public eye as a renaissance man and versatile entertainer on stage and screen. His love of music and performing stems back to his childhood in New Orleans, where he studied piano with such luminaries as James Booker and Ellis Marsalis. Connick first performed publicly at age 6, first appeared on his first jazz recording at age 10, and first released a self-titled major label debut for Columbia Records at 19. His second album, 20, performed with a jazz trio, introduced audiences to his magnificent voice.His first widespread success as a musician actually came in the world of film, when director Rob Reiner asked him to contribute to the score of the 1989 smash When Harry Met Sally The film's success led to Connick's first multi-platinum album, which was also his first big band recording. Subsequent releases showcasing original compositions topped the jazz charts and crossed over to the pop charts. Connick spent much of the 1990s creating groundbreaking albums with no signs of slowing. His most recent big band release, Come By Me, reigned at number one on the Billboard Jazz Chart for several months. He has had four multi-platinum, three platinum, and three gold albums. Connick's career has been studded with awards, including two Grammys as well as Emmy, Cable Ace, Golden Globe, and Oscar nominations. His starring role opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in the upcoming film Life Without Dick is the latest installment in an auspicious acting career that began in 1990 with Memphis Belle and has included roles in features as varied and acclaimed as Hope Floats, Little Man Tate, Copycat, and Independence Day. He turned in a critically acclaimed performance in the improvisational film The Simian Line with Lynn Redgrave. In this year's ABC television movie South Pacific, starring Glenn Close, he played Lieutenant Cable, a role that features such stirring musical performances as "Younger Than Springtime." Connick has also lent his voice-over talents to the film My Dog Skip and the animated feature The Iron Giant. Recently Connick began a collaboration with Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Susan Stroman on Thou Shalt Not, a theatrical adaptation of Émile Zola's novel Thérèse Raquin, set in Connick's hometown of New Orleans. This marks Connick's debut as a composer/arranger and lyricist. Thou Shalt Not has been presented as a workshop at the Lincoln Center Theatre and is headed for Broadway. For more information about Harry Connick, Jr., visit www.harryconnickjr.com. Photos courtesy of Michael Lutch. |
