Harry Conick Jr

Star Turtle is Harry Connick, Jr.'s most ambitious album, a four-part suite that attempts to tell the evolution of jazz and R&B to funk and rock. Given such an unwieldy concept, it's surprising how well the album works, actually. Connick can play jazz and R&B with flair, if not much identity. What sinks the album is when he treads too closely to contemporary waters, because he sounds old-fashioned and surprisingly conservative when he works in a rock & roll or funk-oriented idiom. Nevertheless, Connick's revivalism works quite well when he sticks to more traditional forms and that's what makes Star Turtle an entertaining listen.

This is an album of good, old-fashioned Dixieland standards played by a great group, with Harry Connick Jr. at the piano. Although he's only 11 years old, he plays some fun and creative solos, and in general, the CD is wonderful for all lovers of Dixieland, and will put you in a good mood instantaneously. The loose group jams through nine familiar Dixieland standards and includes trumpeter and leader Teddy Riley and bass player Walter Payton.

For this Christmas jazz album, Harry Connick, Jr. emphasizes his vocals (his piano playing is quite secondary) as he sings ten familiar Christmas songs plus four of his originals while joined by a big band, a string section, and background singers.
It is among the most popular holiday collections of the past two decades in the United States. The album proved to be the best-selling holiday album in the U.S. of 1993.

Grammy and Emmy-winning musician and actor Harry Connick, Jr. today announces his first album for the famed Verve Records label. True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter will be released on 25 October.