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Posted 08.30.13

Harry Connick Jr. talks music, touring and love

Publication: Albany Times Union Author: Cox Newspapers Date: August 28, 2013 In the four years since Harry Connick Jr. last released a studio album, he's starred in a heartwarming family film ("Dolphin Tale"), returned to Broadway (in a revival of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"), played a prosecutor on a four-episode arc of one of TV's most popular dramas ("Law & Order: SVU") and displayed welcome candidness as a mentor on the recent season of "American Idol." And you thought you had a busy life. Last month, Connick released "Every Man Should Know," an album of all-original music that is unequivocally his most personal — at least since 1994's New Orleans-funk experiment, "She." The ever-suave Connick, 45, recently embarked on a tour to support the new release, and will be performing Saturday at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. Connick talked recently about the new show (it will probably feature five or six new songs), the personal nature of the CD (he's worked on it for two years) and his happy marriage. Q: How is the tour going? A: It's going really well, but it's extremely challenging because I'm the guy who shows the orchestra how to play the songs, so it takes a lot of time, and I've got a lot of lyrics to remember. I'm always tweaking. The shows are never the same. Q: Because you're such a true musician, do you think you could deal with judging or coaching on "American Idol" and working with kids who don't even understand what they're singing sometimes and not make yourself crazy? A: I don't know if I'll have that opportunity, since no one has ever asked me. But growing up in New Orleans, we played all kinds of music, and all of those genres are different for reasons, and with some music, the lyrics don't matter. Rick James or K.C. & the Sunshine Band, they weren't really about lyrics, but the music is great. Click here to read the full article