Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Live music can be a chancy venture these days – lip synching, pyrotechnics, “garment malfunctions” and other things tend to help hide the fact that the artist isn’t really that great in a live setting. Many manufactured pop acts are all about studio production, and this is recreated as much as possible in concert. I gravitate towards the artists that are all about the production of music for music’s sake, who don’t care about the glitz and the glam, opting instead to be REAL. (Here we go – the tomato is off on his REAL tangent again…)

For those of you looking for REAL in your music, Harry Connick, Jr.’s discography is an excellent source of material, and the DVD of his latest concert tour supporting his new album Only You shows off Harry’s skills at live music. Recorded in January, 2004 in Quebec City for the PBS series Great Performances, the concert features eight selections from the new CD, plus eight other Connick classics and jazz standards. If you caught this concert in the original PBS broadcast, the DVD boasts thirty additional minutes of the concert that weren’t featured in the broadcast, plus sixty minutes of interviews and back stage footage. The quality of the recording is very good, having been shot in high definition digital audio/video - you can choose between a Dolby 5.1 and PCM Stereo presentation for the sound. Video setup choices are not available – the concert is widescreen, and the bonus footage is standard 4:3 ratio.

With the technicals out of the way, let’s get down to the concert itself. First of all, the theater setting is beautiful and the hall’s ambience is very responsive, a nice quality that come through on the sound of the recording. Harry and his big band are casual and relaxed, much like the sound of the music they play. Harry recruited each of them specifically to meet the needs of his arrangements – he has a definite sound that he wants to achieve, and so he brought in some of the best talents that New Orleans has to offer these days. Many of the highlights of the concert are the instrumental solos performed throughout the evening by these highly talented jazz musicians.

Harry begins the concert with three selections from the new album - Save The Last Dance For Me, For Once In My Life, and Good Night My Love (Pleasant Dreams). The songs are played in much the same arrangements as on the CD, but from the get go, you can see that Harry is so much better in a live setting that what can be captured in a studio. He is highly responsive to crowd reaction, and he feeds off the ever present dangers of live jazz performance. In the back stage interview footage, Harry says “with jazz, you just never know what’s gonna happen…I make a lot of mistakes on stage, I mean, very surface type mistakes like forgetting words. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth, and say things I shouldn’t say…you ever watch the news and they’ll say ‘and we’ll be right back’ but the camera doesn’t go off, and there’s an incredible tension there? I live for those moments…the more catastrophic the surroundings are, the better. I know what I’m gonna do; what’s exciting is what I don’t know.”

One thing you’re bound to notice about Harry is that he’s so grounded – he’s just a regular guy who just happens to have a great voice and a great talent for creating jazz arrangements. He’s so earnest in his singing, his piano playing is effortless, and his passion for finding that perfect moment in a performance is written all over his face. He has no problem sharing the stage with his musicians, throwing the spotlight several times to soloists, and you can see him in the background enjoying the music being played just as much as anyone in the audience. Two of the more memorable solos in the concert (other than Harry’s masterful performance of Sweet Georgia Brown - wait for it!) are those in the New Orleans classic Bourbon Street Parade. For this tune, Harry brings up trumpet player Leroy Jones and trombonist Craig Kline, who start the song as a straightforward jaunt until Leroy picks up the mic to sing a couple verses. Leroy can SANG…and he puts out a showstopping rendition that puts a huge smile on Harry’s face. Craig follows this with an extended trombone solo – it’s raw and oh so wonderful. Leroy comes in again to shine on trumpet – wait until you hear how long he can hold out a single siren-like note (can anyone say circular breathing?)! Finally, it’s back to the duet to close out the song, and the house comes to it’s feet in a well-deserved standing ovation. Back at the piano, Harry comments to Leroy, “hey bro – you ain’t messin’ around tonight. You’re like a racehorse, come out of the gate, and – gone. Man, sometimes I hear somethin’ like that, and I don’t want to play after that…it’s hard, man, you don’t leave me no room!”

Well, Harry does manage to find a little room, and he makes the most of it in the highlight of the entire DVD, his solo performance of Sweet Georgia Brown - you know the one, the Harlem Globetrotters theme music? That song has a long history, going far back before the basketballers made it a familiar tune for the masses, and Harry gives one of the most unique performances ever in this concert. Earlier, I said that Harry plays the piano. For this particular performance, to merely say that Harry plays the piano is a serious understatement – this is a jaw-dropping, genius in the house, you ain’t NEVER seen nothin’ like this before, absolute profusion of musical creativity and skill… and that’s all I’m going to say about it, because you just have to see it to believe it.

And that’s my recommendation for the DVD itself – you HAVE to see this! The talent level of the musicians is wonderful, the jazz arrangements are perfection, and the solos are spontaneous, fun and highly skilled. Harry is a great band leader with a charming personality that isn’t forced or fake, and his vocal and piano talents are among the best you can find in music today. If you’ve heard the CD of Only You, and drew the same conclusion I did (it’s good, but not really that special compared to some of Harry’s other works), don’t stay away from the concert DVD! This is something very special to add to your collection of REAL music – make sure you leave some room for Harry…

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Harry Connick, Jr. – Only You (DVD)
Originally released March 23, 2004 by Sony Music Entertainment
Track Listing:
Save The Last Dance For Me / For Once In My Life / Good Night My Love (Pleasant Dreams) / It Might As Well Be Spring / We Are In Love / The Very Thought Of You / You Don’t Know Me / Bourbon Street Parade / (There Is Always) One More Time / Sweet Georgia Brown / I Still Get Jealous / Other Hours / My Blue Heaven / Only You (And You Alone) / I’m Walkin’ / Come By Me
Bonus Footage:
A Conversation with Harry Connick, Jr. (interview)
Reflections (back stage footage)
Photo Gallery
Audio Choices:
Dolby Digital 5.1
PCM Stereo
Concert presented in widescreen 16:9, all other material in standard 4:3

My Other Harry Connick, Jr. reviews:
20
We Are In Love
Songs I Heard
Only You (CD)


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD