Cincinnati, OH – Live Nation is proud to present Harry Connick, Jr. at the Louisville Palace on Sunday March 11, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.
It has been a year of triumph for Harry Connick, Jr., with his universally heralded appearance in the celebrated revival of The Pajama Game. Even with his focus on Broadway, however, thoughts of his home town have never been far from Connick's mind.
"New Orleans is a city of paradox. Sin, salvation, sex, sanctification, so intertwined yet so separate. The blurred lines from the dark blue of Mardi Gras night to the periwinkle of Ash Wednesday morning" is the way Connick summarizes the gritty and grandiose, soulful and magical Crescent City, where the musical culture is second to none. "Jazz, gospel, brass band, rhythm and blues, country, funk aren't all the styles played in New Orleans," he emphasizes. "But they're the ones I wanted to play around with." And "play around with" them he does, to brilliant effect, on Oh, My NOLA. 
Oh, My NOLA was recorded in June, days after Connick had completed his historic run in The Pajama Game that is documented in the original cast recording that comprises half of the two-disc set Connick on Broadway, Volume 1. With the assistance of his great Big Band, plus the added input of a few special guests, he has created an unprecedented musical cornucopia of songs inspired by and associated with the Crescent City.
The program features four new originals that reflect the paradoxical nature of the city Connick celebrates. Two of those originals are among the most moving of his career. "Do That Thing" is both a celebration of New Orleans culture ("The title means whatever you want it to mean," Connick insists; "You've just got to know how to do it") and a tribute to the city's late musical greats, many of whom are mentioned specifically by name. More powerful still is "All These People," inspired by the suffering Connick witnessed when he visited New Orleans in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina. "The song is all about the people who were left stranded at the Convention Center, with the verses describing what I saw as I was taken through by a kind fellow I had met on the street earlier that day named Darryl." The track features Connick in duet with the great gospel singer Kim Burrell.
"All These People" was the first single to be released from the album, and Connick's royalties from its sale, as well as a portion of his royalties from the sales of both Oh, My NOLA and Chanson du Vieux Carre (an album of instrumental jazz by Connick's Big Band that the Marsalis Music label is also releasing in February 2007) will benefit the New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village. This project, conceived by Connick and his longtime fri/files/storyimages/and colleague Branford Marsalis, will consist of single-family homes and elder-friendly duplexes as well as the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named for the modern jazz pioneer and patriarch of the Marsalis clan who counts Connick among his legion of successful music students. Connick and Branford Marsalis serve as honorary chairs of Habitat for Humanity's hurricane relief effort, Operation Home Delivery, which began dedicating completed houses and delivery keys to needy families shortly before Oh, My NOLA was recorded.
For all of the work that remains to be done, there is a basic spirit of optimism and celebration that permeates Oh, My NOLA, and that is best captured in Connick's version of "Yes We Can." "Allen Toussaint was prophetic on this one," he says of the song's legendary composer. "'Yes We Can' perfectly fits the bill of a post-Katrina New Orleans. This should be the theme song of our great city." It also summarizes the manner in which Connick views life – with positive spirit, a focus on solutions rather than casting blame, and a humanity that knows no boundaries. It is this same spirit that makes Oh, My NOLA such an honest and affirmative experience.
Reserved tickets for Harry Connick, Jr. [$75.50, $62.50, & $45.50] are on sale this Saturday, January 27 at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at Livenation.com, and the Palace box office. Charge by phone at (502) 361-3100. All tickets subject to applicable services charges and facility fees.
