CONNICK HAS THE GOODS ALONG WITH GOOD LOOKS.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor There is something wild about Harry Connick Harry Connick is the name of:
True, over the years since he first emerged on the scene in 1987 as a talented New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded musician who had solid piano chops and smooth vocals that told you he had obviously listened to the greats - including the Sinatra of the '50s - he has for the most part seemingly played it safe. His latest CD, ``Only You,'' is an example, relying on pleasant renditions of such pop classics as ``You Don't Know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. Me'' and ``Save the Last Dance for Me.'' Nothing wrong with that, but nothing to get excited about, either. On Saturday, though, the second of two nights at the Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheatre at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, California, USA, that is used primarily for music performances. The "bowl" in this context is the natural cavity in the earth into which the amphitheater is built, rather than the shape of the , the casually dressed Connick, with his untucked shirt, kicked up his heels - literally - a couple of times as he danced across the stage while his 14-piece band rocked out. More interesting, though, he showed himself to be a risk-taker during his instrumental breaks. In fact, watching Connick's intensity as he stretched himself during his piano solos, you get the feeling that he could be happy with a small combo at a jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is live jazz. Often such venues are in the basement of residential buildings. They are rather small compared to other music venues, reflecting the intimate atmosphere of jazz concerts. . When playing with just Neal Caine on bass and Winard Harper on drums, Connick's playing became adventurous - not necessarily pushing the jazz envelope but always creatively witty. Being the showman that he is, though, Connick juggled the experimental with plenty of crowd-pleasing moments. There were, after all, among the more than 34,000 who saw him over two days a number of female fans who came to see the Southern boy with the movie-star looks croon croon v. crooned, croon·ing, croons v.intr. 1. To hum or sing softly. 2. To sing popular songs in a soft, sentimental manner. 3. Scots To roar or bellow. . When Connick strolled out on the Bowl's semicircle walkway to sing in the audience, one woman held a rose in her teeth and beckoned him to come get it. Connick obliged o·blige v. o·bliged, o·blig·ing, o·blig·es v.tr. 1. To constrain by physical, legal, social, or moral means. 2. bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek and accepted the rose. That was followed by another attractive female in a low-cut shirt coming up to the walkway to give him a peach, but after a few moments, Connick good-naturedly shooed her away, saying he couldn't help but stare at her ample assets rather than concentrate on his singing. It was all part of the entertainment, which included terrific solos by Connick, Caine and Harper as well as others in the band, including Ned Goold on alto sax and trombonist Lucien Barbarin Lucien Barbarin is an American trombone player, born July 17, 1956, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Barbarin tours internationally with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and with Harry Connick, Jr. . What this mostly rousing two-hour set showed was that while Connick is an entertainer first (and a good one), he hasn't forgotten musicianship, either. Rob Lowman, (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com |
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