Harry Connick Jr. may have worn a suit and tie on stage at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House on Thursday, but by the end of the night he lost his tie, charmed the pants off of the audience, and had the proverbial house rocking, Louisiana style.
Connick walks alone onto the stage, and with a grandiose wave of his hand the stage lights beam down in moody hues of green and purple, revealing the rest of his 9-piece band. They ring out with a flare of sound, Connick plays a glissando on his grand piano, and they blast off into an evening of New Orleans jazz.
As he sings his first few numbers, the timbre of his voice is slightly less polished than other notable crooners. It’s grittier with a bluesy lilt and more raspiness hanging on his vibrato. His vocal tone is a warm baritone giving a sense of inexplicable yearning that, yes, makes the audience swoon.
He peppers his show with other swoon-worthy moments as he weaves in and out of songs by entertaining the audience with his dry, but charismatic humor. At one point he explains that he knew Ellie Caulkins is “fancy and thatap why (he) put on a tie”. Connick also commends Colorado for being beautiful but jabs that itap so dry, “Itap like living on the moon. I need to train here like athletes.”
That didn’t stop him from crooning the night away, but Connick undoubtedly shines brightest on the keys. His right hand plays crunchy jazz chords on the upper register of the piano while his left hand holds down a steady and punctuated bass line. He also offers the audience a taste of his skills on the trumpet, the organ, the acoustic guitar and a synth.
Connick gives his band space to shine throughout the night, not just in a song or two. He uses the familiar tune “The Way You Look Tonight” to give the musicians extended solos. A breathy and buttery baritone saxophone, an earthy and syncopated upright bass, bright trumpets and growling trombones each run up and down standard jazz scales like a breeze on a hot Louisiana day.
Star trumpet and trombone players join Connick on stage along with gospel guitarist Jonathan DuBose Jr. for various duets and trios that feel like a conversation on a porch on a Sunday afternoon in New Orleans. The musicians are listening to one another, matching their riffs and playing higher, faster and more complex rhythms while scrunching their noses and furrowing their brow whenever their partner makes especially spicy riffs in songs like “”How Come You Do Me Like You Do”.
His encore followed suit — pulling out all the stops. All of the musicians sprang to their feet and by the end of the show Connick was shaking and dancing so hard that he kicked away the piano bench and jammed until the final chords rang out. And thus, he and his band brought a taste of New Orleans to the Mile High City.
