The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Harry Connick Jr. to bring wide variety of styles to Chastain Park
Harry Connick Jr. is like a glass of sweet tea on a sticky New Orleans summer day: refreshing and cool, with an innate ability to make you smile.
The forecast for Saturday evening at State Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park is warm and humid, so a blast of Connick celebrating the tricentennial of his hometown is a perfect antidote.
His current tour, which began in Florida this week, will be a gumbo of styles, showcasing the 50-year-old performer’s ability to cross genres with ease. The set list will flow as he sees fit.
“We always love to celebrate things about New Orleans,” Connick said in a phone interview Wednesday. “There are so many genres within the New Orleans framework that we can pull off. So if we decide to play a gospel song, it could be one of many. The same for funk or traditional jazz. We have songs that we play more frequently than others, but it’s just a lot of fun to make it up on the fly.”
He just completed a test run of a musical version of the 1973 Robert Redford/Paul Newman caper film “The Sting” at a theater in New Jersey. While doing
that show, he learned to tapdance, a skill he showed off during his Florida dates and will do so again at Chastain on Saturday.
“I’ve liked to hoof for a long time but didn’t get serious about it until recently,” he said. “Tap dancing is such a big part of the New Orleans and French Quarter culture, I had to include it.”
Tap dancing is not featured often anymore on TV, but Connick said “when people see it, they really dig it. It isn’t as popular as it used to be, but it’s sure fun to watch.”
Connick’s syndicated talk show “Harry,” seen locally on Fox 5 in Atlanta at 2 p.m. daily, recently wrapped taping new episodes after two seasons but won’t be back next season. He admitted the economics of creating such shows has become more challenging in this age of cord cutting and on-demand viewing. (The last time a celebrity-led syndicated talk show found any real footing was “Steve Harvey” in 2012, which is now called “Steve.”)
If he had been willing to do a more stripped-down show, he said it might have worked better financially, but he insisted on a live band and high production values.
“I wanted to do a show that was uplifting and inspiring, not ugly or controversial or political,” he said, “just something that was a feel-good show with music. … That was something I’ll always cherish. I have no regrets.”
The singer has been way too busy in recent months to catch the newest iteration of “American Idol,” which just concluded on ABC last month. He judged the final three seasons on Fox from 2014 to 2016 and received plaudits from fans for his charming blend of goofiness and wonkiness. It helped lead to his talk show and more acolytes to his music.
“I would like to think that some new fans came along for the ride as a result of ‘Idol,’ which I was grateful for,” he said.
“Idol” fans have complained that the judges this year (Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan) failed to provide enough constructive criticism to the finalists, especially during the live shows. Connick could only address his own time there, but said that even in the short time frame they are given, he tried hard to provide fair guidance.
“Fifteen seconds is a long time,” he said. “You listen and give what you think is your idea of the performance. You can say it was absolutely terrific and here’s why. Specificity is key in a show like this. It’s a competition and I think you should be able to talk on some level about some specifics they can work on.”
And though none of the singers from his seasons have broken out in any way, unfortunately, he said, that’s not at all surprising.
“There is a lot of talent out there, and it’s up to them to sort of make things happen after the show is over,” Connick said. “There’s also a lot of luck involved.”