Chanson du Vieux Carre

Harry Connick Jr.

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2007)
• Original Release Date: January 30, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Marsalis Music
• ASIN: B000ICMFNK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,548 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
As a Sinatra-molded swinger, Harry Connick, Jr. may have had some of his thunder stolen by young star Michael Buble. But with his raved-about performance on Broadway in Pajama Game and his continuing development as a jazz pianist, he's doing quite nicely, thank you. Chanson du Vieux Carre is one of two new simultaneously released big band tributes to his hometown of New Orleans by him. Released on Marsalis Music, it is a largely instrumental big band session divided between originals and classics that shows off his writing and arranging skills while featuring his longtime trumpeter Leroy Jones and trombonist Lucien Barbarin on incidental vocals. (Connick is in full vocal mode on Oh, My Nola, released by his longtime "A" label, Columbia.) Though his surprisingly few turns at the piano are mostly Basie-like in their edgy economy, his coloristic, sectional approach on tunes such as his own "Luscious" and Hoagy Carmichael's "New Orleans" evokes Duke Ellington. Named for the storied old section of the French Quarter, the album takes a few songs to get going, but once it does, it has plenty of spark and swagger--and heart. The ghostlike background voicings on Sidney Bechet's "Petite Fleur" seem to embody spirits of New Orleans past while it's always great to hear Connick honor his onetime mentor, Professor Longhair, on Longhair's bumptious "Mardis Gras in New Orleans." --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description
For Harry Connick, Jr. and the members of his big band, New Orleans has always been a constant state of mind. Connick's hometown, the birthplace of so much of America's musical culture, defines all of his performances, but never more so than on Chanson du Vieux Carré, the third disc in the Marsalis Music label's Connick on Piano series. The album was conceived and executed in May 2003, well before Hurricane Katrina, and showcases Connick's talents as a pianist, arranger of favorite New Orleans classics, and composer of three titles in debut performances. While Connick does not sing on the recording, key band members Lucien Barbarin (trombone) and Leroy Jones (trumpet) do. Chanson du Vieux Carré is a Crescent City love letter, composed two years before the deluge yet never timelier. The album will be released on January 30, 2007, the same day Columbia Records issues Connick's vocal tribute Oh, My NOLA. A portion of Connick's royalties from both discs will benefit New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swings with authority., February 2, 2007

By	John Gerdes (Fort Worth, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been eagerly awaiting more instrumental material from Harry Connick Jr. This disc doesn't let me down one bit.

In the liner notes, Harry talks about his decision to record the album after a tour, as opposed to the more standard practice of recording before. He says he felt that the band would be tighter. He was right. The opening notes of the first track prove this. You will know what I mean when you hear it.

I also bought Oh My NOLA and it is good, but it doesn't swing like Chanson du Vieux Carre. If you liked Lofty's Roach Souffle, or any of the other instrumental discs, you will LOVE this one. This album is a tribute to the Crescent City so many tracks have that New Orleans sound but it doesn't sound like a Zatarain's Jambalaya commercial. Which is good.

You can add this one to your collection of brilliant jazz performances by Mr. Connick. Enjoy!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harry Connick, Jr.- Chanson du Vieux Carre, May 1, 2007

By	Larry Sakin "Larry A. Sakin" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have mixed feelings about Harry Connick, Jr. The jazz lover in me often pleads with other aficionado's to not shoot the innovative piano player, but please off the reckless crooner Connick can be.

Fortunately, Connick sticks to the ivories in his more lucid moments and on his latest effort, Chanson du Vieux Carre', he makes his grand piano perform wondrous magic along with his sensational big band.

Chanson du Vieux Carre' is a tribute to New Orleans and the cross cultural hybrid of blues, old time spirituals, and honky-tonk that earned the moniker of New Orleans jazz. Connick and his band rip several pages from past giants such as Louis Armstrong and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to make Chanson, however, this doesn't diminish the amazing power and overflowing spirit that lifts Chanson du Vieux Carre' to masterpiece status.

Like many of Connick's past big band efforts, he is nearly imperceptible, working as a small piece of an ensemble musical landscape. The band features some incredible players, including regular Arthur Latin on drums, Dave Schumacher on baritone saxophone, Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, John Allred, and the incomparable Lucien Barbarin on trombones, Jerry Weldon and Mike Karn on tenor sax, and the steady backbeat of Neil Caine's standup bass. Together, they navigate the salty waters of standards like Armstrong's "Someday You'll Be Sorry", Sidney Bechet's "Petite Fleur", Hoagy Carmichael's "New Orleans", and Sammy Cahn's "I Still Get Jealous"; plus about half dozen of Connick's original compositions. Each song is arranged brilliantly, making the most of the steamy sensuality of Crescent City jazz.

It's hard to know where not to recommend this album, but standout performances include Barbarin's vocal and solo trombone tracks on Connick original "Luscious", the unexpected horn blasts on "Someday You'll be Sorry", and the jump up and shout enthusiasm of the final track "Mardi Gras in New Orleans". The entire album succeeds in weaving a voodoo spell that will have jazz fans grooving zombie-like under its myriad charms.

Connick himself finds a groove too, and is smart not to hog the show with his solo work. When he does solo, it's simple and non-obtrusive, showing a great loyalty to the sound that has captivated him since childhood.

If all of that's not enough to convince you to buy this album, then you should also know that the profit from this album will go to building an old musicians home in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and to help with the reconstruction of the area in general.

So as much as I'd like to see Harry Connick the singer laid to rest, the pianist has made a huge contribution to jazz preservation with Chanson du Vieux Carre'. In so doing, he has earned his place among the legends of the musical form, and for the heart that has driven him to make this album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet New Orleans jazz, April 18, 2007

By	C. J. Fuller (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Chanson Du Vieux Carre" is wonderful, traditional New Orleans jazz. Classic pieces written by jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Hoagy Carmichael are inter-mingled with Connick compositions that not only pay homage but sound right at home next to the old favorites. This was recorded in 2003, according to Connick's liner notes, during the same studio sessions in which he and his band recorded "Harry for the Holidays," and "Only You." For the most part, this album is without vocals, with notable exceptions on "Someday You'll Be Sorry," "Luscious" (sung by trombone-player extraordinaire Lucien Barbarin), and "Bourbon Street Parade," which showcases trumpet-player Leroy Jones. The haunting Connick title composition was previously released on the album "Occasion," a piano/saxophone pairing with Branford Marsalis. If you're looking for songs you can sing along with, don't miss "Oh My Nola," the Connick album released on the same day as this one.