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HONG KONG: Musician, singer, composer, actor and band-leader; Harry Connick Jr. appears to have done it all.
With 24 albums under his belt ranging from jazz to funk to blues, and three Grammy Awards standing tall in his cupboard, you would be mistaken if you thought the celebrated American singer was going to take it easy.
He's back with a new album "Your Song", this time showcasing his vocals. It covers songs made popular by the Carpenters, Frank Sinatra and the Beatles.
Channel NewsAsia's Hong Kong Bureau Chief Roland Lim caught up with the crooner in Hong Kong, where he treated fans to a showcase performance.
Tell us something about your new album.
The songs are very, very accessible. There's not a lot of jazz interpretation on this CD. These songs were sort of designed to be very easy to listen to, and to be sung along to.
So although I put the same amount of effort to writing the arrangement on these songs, I think the way they're presented is a little bit more simple.
Tell us about the collaboration with legendary producer Clive Davis - how did it come about?
Well, Clive called me last November I think, he was interested in working with me and I had found that idea intriguing because I had not met him before and I was aware of his reputation as a producer within the music industry. We met and discussed the idea of doing an album of popular songs.
Was it very different from the usual way in which you produce an album?
We were both trying to do the same thing. But he had very definitive opinions, as I had definitive opinions. Although we both have healthy egos with regards to what we like, we were able to find common ground and going in, we both knew that was going to be the case, there would be some disagreements but primarily we were trying to make the same CD and we got along famously the whole time.
Talking about collaborative efforts, your pals Branford and Wynton Marsalis were also playing, that must've been a blast?
Anytime I get to play with Branford or Marsalis, it's always a game-changer. They come in and on this CD, they play solos that are deceptively easy. They played the melodies, they played them simply, but it's very hard to find anyone who can do that and they bring such elegance to the recording.
Your favourite track for the album, if you had to choose?
Maybe 'Who Can I Turn To'. One that Wynton actually plays a nice solo on. It's such a beautiful song, it's got a wonderful lyric and the melody is beautiful, and Wynton's addition to it is magical.
After the touring for the new album, what's next?
I'm not exactly sure what's going on after that. I do know that I'm doing another Broadway show, that we're in the process of writing. It doesn't have a title, I haven't even seen the script yet but that's the nature of Broadway, it takes a long time to get to the position of putting something on stage. Until then, I'll always be singing and playing.
- CNA/yb
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