Though most art forms have their own core audience that will always remain loyal to that form, general acceptance of the form will rise and fall with the latest trends. Every once in a while, an artist comes along and revives an art form that has fallen into neglect by the public at large. Consider the once overwhelming popularity of the big band sounds that dominated music from the late thirties until the late fifties - jazz bands of the roaring twenties transitioned into the new styles, and in the early fifties, rock and roll and R & B retained the instrumentation of the big band in the infancy of their rise to popularity. Great careers were launched by the big band sound - singers, dancers, band leaders, and musicians like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington - all incredible talents that rode the phenomenon to the top. It took the ascendancy of the electric guitar as the primary instrument for popular music to finally unseat the big band format from the top of pop culture. The last dregs of the era languished on PBS and in Lawrence Welk specials, remembered only by an aging pre-baby boom generation, and largely ignored by their children and grandchildren.

Fortunately, the genre would be resuscitated by a young man who spent his early years growing up around his parent's New Orleans record shop, learning to play the piano, studying jazz with Ellis Marsalis and James Booker, and displaying an innate talent for jazz in public performances that began when he was six years old. Harry Connick, Jr. proved his worth with his early record releases, a self-titled album of jazz piano, and his first hit in 1998, the critically acclaimed 20, in which he first showcased his distinctly Sinatra-esque vocal abilities. His subsequent involvement in the soundtrack for the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally catapulted him to national recognition, and in 1990, he released two albums simultaneously - the instrumental classic, Lofty's Roach Souffle, and a vocal album with Harry fronting his own big band - We Are In Love firmly cemented his status as a superstar, and single-handedly rescued the big band sound from it's long exile.

Though the big band style will probably never take hold of the nation's interest as it once did, it's fun to think what could have been if Harry had been born in another time...

We Are In Love.
MCMLIV, MGM Pictures

Night has fallen on Times Square. Flashing lights glitter off wet streets and sleek black sedans. Spotlights glare into the darkness in front of a tall hotel, and the doorman tips his hat as you step through the revolving entry. That's the main ballroom up ahead, decorated for New Year's, jeweled chandeliers reflecting all their pretty lights over all the pretty people. A suave, handsome bandleader steps up to the large WNBC microphone -

I... bam!(full horn section)
know you...bam!(and again)
so well...bam!(once more)
I can tell by the sound of your voice (bass, horns swell)
that you're really in love with me (bass walk, horns swell)
and you are, and you are (swing out the saxophones and away we go!)

The joint is jumpin', with hot horn hits, swinging saxophones, and sweeping strings - it's ultra-cool, super slick and so very hip, man! That's Harry out front - he's the newest star to hit this town, and his newest song We Are In Love has everyone in a buzz. They'll be talkin' about this one fifty years from now. He's written a lot of songs lately - there's nine of them on the program tonight. Looks like he's gonna play a couple oldies tonight too...

Harry sits down at the ivory-white grand piano, and begins to play, single fingered, the introduction to another hit, Recipe For Love. He cues the horn section to join in, and he's all smiles singing the clever lyric - it's a light and fluffy tap-dance number that some producers are thinkin' about usin' on Broadway; maybe Gene Kelly himself will dance to this one. Here comes the big finish - man, these guys swing!

Hey, don't look now, but trouble just walked in - see the dame at that front table? That's Harry's girl - or, at least, she used to be... and here's Harry's competition now. Made of money, that guy is...got a place in the Hamptons and a spare in the Catskills too. If I know Harry, he's got something up his sleeve for an occasion like this.

The lights dim and the dancers return to their tables, clapping for the song as it finishes. A spotlight falls on Harry at the piano, as he starts to sing ever so slowly, muted horns joining in, brushes on the snare, strings ebb and swell...

turn off the music, take down the sign
pack up the boxes, put away the wine
no toast for the future, no reward for the find
if looks could kill, this mirror would do
...only cause I don't have you

She must be made of ice - she's completely ignoring the song. Harry's not one to give up on true love, though. Harry's got a knack for melancholy moods, and Just A Boy is just the ticket. Now, he's reminiscing about better times, accompanying himself on piano, while the orchestra adds dynamic highlights throughout. Harry's gotta get over her, or get rid of him for good - in fact, I'm gonna bust outta here - why don't you hang here a while? It's gonna be a great night!

The partygoers are mingling, drinks in hand, high society's ins and outs the conversation topic for the evening, so Harry takes a different direction, performing a few songs featuring a smaller ensemble, with himself on piano, an acoustic bass, drums and a few horns. Forever, For Now and I've Got a Great Idea are understated, jazzy and clever. Harry knows how to be smooth, and the ensemble sound never grows too loud or overly fancy. From a table near the back, a man calls out for that new tune Harry's been working up, and the crowd takes up the call, encouraging him into sharing the song. There's light applause as Harry shyly agrees, and some of the boys in the band huddle with Harry around the microphone to sing the acapella Heavenly. Fingers snap in time across the room - the vocal acapella arrangement recalls that new sensation Take Six in places.

There's a stir near the orchestra - that's Branford Marsalis stepping in to join Harry on an old favorite - he's got a brilliant tenor sax interpretation for A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square. Lovers hit the floor to slow dance as Branford winds his way around the familiar melody for a couple minutes. As it ends, Harry shakes Branford's hand and holds up a finger to ask the crowd about one more - Marsalis agrees and Harry turns to conduct the orchestra through the symphonic introduction to I'll Dream Of You Again. Horns, winds and strings complement Harry well - it sounds just like one of those songs from the pictures. Branford plays a nice soprano solo in the middle to transition the song back into the chorus one last time. The crowd appreciates the solo, and applauds loudly. Harry thanks him again, and tells the audience that he's going to take a break and will return in a few minutes. Harry steps into the crowd to do the society small talk...

(One of the string players takes over at the piano, kicking into Cole Porter's It's Alright With Me - he's joined by bass, guitar and drums in Harry's jazzy interpretation of the famous standard - each of them take turns at improvising a solo)

Harry's got all the girls eating out of his hand (all, that is, except one); his beautiful songs and gorgeous arrangements could be his ticket to his pick of any of these socialites. You'd swear on a stack of Jeffersons this high that he sounds just like Sinatra, but there is that ultra-smooth Crosby baritone that creeps in every once in a while. It's a wicked combination - why's she giving him the cold shoulder?

--------------------------------

The moon is full in the sky, rain clouds clearing as midnight and the new year approach. Harry steps out of a fire door onto the roof of the hotel, cigarette in one hand, a pilfered bottle of champagne in the other. He stamps out the cigarette, and takes a slow pull from the bottle, staring up into the moonlight, remembering, remembering...

(Strings enter, and softly play an introduction, a harp joins in, and Harry begins to sing)

I see your eyes drifting, drifting
I'm really not that naive...
You wear a smile, but it's drifting, drifting
while I wear my heart on my sleeve

I feel your coldness against my skin
I know what follows the autumn wind
and though you say your heart isn't drifting, drifting
the words simply don't ring true.
You're drifting, and I'm losing you

(the strings reprise the melody in a light dance tempo as Harry flashes back to better days with the girl, then returns bitterly from his reverie to an empty rooftop)

I feel your coldness against my skin
I know what follows the autumn wind
and though you say your heart isn't drifting, drifting
the words simply don't ring true.
You're drifting, and I'm losing you

From inside, a celebration is heard, noisemakers pop and scream, the sound of laughter floats out onto the rooftop, and in the distance a church bell peals the arrival of the new year...on the roof, Harry grabs the bottle and heads back down the stairs as the rain clouds gather again to pour down onto the city. A dark figure steps out of the rooftop shadows to slip through the same door...

----------------------------------------------------

Balloons continue to fall from the ceiling, and everyone is making merry as Harry steps back onto the stage, looking a little worse for the wear, bow tie askew, bottle still in hand. The lead trumpet player leans over to Harry and asks if he's alright. Harry waves him off and steps up to the microphone again, asking for the lights to be dimmed. The spotlight falls once again and Harry begins to sing Buried In Blue - the trumpet player shakes his head slowly as he inserts his mute into the bell of his horn...

When you left
Leaving nothing behind
There's no one to blame
No criminal, no crime
You can report a missing person
But not a stolen heart
And I'm missing a person
To whom stealing was an art

The painting's complete
The brush strokes dry
I hear a band playing
A bent note or two
I guess someone died
And just wants to be
Buried in blue

As the orchestra plays the instrumental middle section, Harry walks over to the piano, and begins to play a plaintive solo improvising upon the melody. A dark figure steps up behind Harry, and lays a hand gently upon Harry's shoulder - Harry stops playing to turn and sees the girl. A single tear runs down her face...the orchestra swells as the song comes to a climax, and the girl falls into Harry's arms. The trumpet player steps out to lead the orchestra to the end of the song as Harry and the girl kiss. The audience shouts it's appreciation, and moneyman gathers his coat, tipping his hat to Harry as he walks toward the door. Harry acknowledges his nemesis with a slight wave, and the girl turns his head back for another kiss.

From the back of the room, the call goes up for one more song, and Harry looks at the girl. She holds up one finger questioningly and he gives her a sly smile as he takes her hand in his, and with the other, pulls a ring from his coat pocket to slip onto another of her fingers. A collective gasp goes up from the crowd as Harry goes to one knee to propose, and erupts in wild applause when the girl nods her head in acceptance. They kiss, and Harry holds up a finger as if to say, just another moment... finally, he breaks away to step back up to the microphone...

I... bam!
know you...bam!
so well...bam!
I can tell by the sound of your voice
that you're really in love with me
and you are, and you are

You know I can't lie
If I say to you 'baby, I love you'
Then baby, I love you
Oh, and I do
Yes, I do

I do... could it be that's the
Phrase you thought never would phase you
Well baby, you better hold on tight
'Cause I'm the one who's supposed to
Kneel down and propose, well alright
Ooo, well I might, I might

So, when I kiss you good-night
Just sleep tight with the thought that you'll
Always be caught up in love with me
And you'll dream that the stars up above
Have the answer of whether we'll be
Or whether we won't be
In love...
Well, we are,
Yes, we are
Oh, we are,
Girl we are
Indubitably we are

THE END


Harry Connick, Jr. - We Are In Love
Originally released in the US July 3, 1990 on Columbia Records
Track listing
We Are In Love / Only 'Cause I Don't Have You / Recipe For Love / Drifting (Music and Lyric by Marc Shaiman)/ Forever, For Now / A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square / Heavenly / Just A Boy / I've Got A Great Idea / I'll Dream Of You Again / It's Alright With Me / Buried In Blue
Total Time 52:48
Guest Artist
Branford Marsalis, Saxophones
Russell Malone, Guitar
Benjamin Jonah Wolfe, Bass
Shannon Powell, Drums



Recommended: Yes