★★★★★
Hot on the heels of Smokey Mary, his vivid salute to his hometown of New Orleans, Harry Connick's latest reveals two intriguing facts about the former boy wonder of jazz. First, at age 45, Connick has settled into a middle-age sound that recalls Sinatra's early Reprise years, when the Chairman himself was navigating his mid-40s. Subtle hints of grit and gravel have invaded Connick's voice and, as with Sinatra, they suit him well, ushering in a more mature, wiser and slightly world-weary style...
- jazztimes.com
2013-08-23
★★★★★
Before there was Michael Bublé, there was Harry Connick Jr.: a straight-talking, good-looking, smartly dressed pop-jazz crooner refashioning old music for young people. (Old people tuned in anyway.)
Yet while Bublé has used his success singing standards as leverage to do more of his own material -- April's "To Be Loved" led with the slyly acerbic "It's a Beautiful Day" -- Connick largely has stayed away from songwriting of late...
- www.latimes.com
2013-06-29
★★★★★
There's something effortless about Harry Connick Jr's songwriting on Every Man Should Know, which may be a side-effect of having emulated Frank Sinatra for so long: one suspects that he even has a smoke and a Scotch to hand as he's penning the slinky jazz groove "One Fine Thing" or "Being Alone", the track on which his Sinatra phrasing pays off best, aided by Wynton Marsalis's trumpet...
- www.independent.co.uk
2013-06-29
★★★★★
During a recent appearance on "American Idol," Harry Connick Jr. tried to impress upon the contestants that sometimes a singer singing a great song is enough to move people and that showy vocal acrobatics could actually be a distraction. On his latest release, the New Orleans native puts his money where his mouth is, writing and singing some of his most thoughtful and personal songs to date. The moods vary from playful to rueful...
- www.bostonglobe.com
2013-07-13
★★★★★
Following a prolonged retreat into the worlds of pop covers and Broadway, Harry Connick Jr. is--spiritually, musically and physically--back on home turf. The last time Connick paid album-length tribute to his birthplace was in 2007, with the side-by-side post-Katrina releases Oh, My Nola and its largely instrumental companion, Chanson du Vieux Carré...
- jazztimes.com
2013-04-21
★★★★★
"The Happy Elf" is just one of many numbers that Harry Connick, Jr. dished out on Harry For The Holidays (Sony/Columbia, 2003), but this particular song proved to be the seed for cross-marketing manna, which makes it a microcosm of the man himself. Connick has crooned his way into the hearts of millions, proven himself on piano time and again, conquered the silver screen, and taken Broadway by storm, but his most heartwarming talent may be that of "children's entertainer...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2011-12-26
★★★★★
Perhaps surprisingly, Occasion is an album of duos featuring pianist Harry Connick, Jr. and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Though the two have played and recorded together before, most notably with Connick stepping in for a cut on Marsalis'
- www.offbeat.com
2010-11-09
★★★★★
I assume that the title—Your Songs—is a reference to standards, songs that belong to all of us. On his new album, Harry Connick, Jr. visits the classic songbook, reaching as far forward as the 1970s for tunes by Billy Joel, Roberta Flack and Elton John, often constructed with hints of bossa nova and Tijuana horns...
- www.offbeat.com
2010-11-02
★★★★★
Harry Connick Jr. is 22 years old and in a hurry. He started as ajazz pianist, but then he recorded songs for the film When Harry MetSally and won a Grammy this year as a jazz singer. He'll even debutas an actor in a movie called Memphis Belle in the fall. Somewhere in the midst of all this he found time to record two newalbums at once; a single record, or so he's said, just wouldn't beenough to document everything he does. So one of his albums, Lofty'sRoach Souffle, features his piano...
- ew.com
2010-08-27
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