Harry Connick Jr.: New Orleans’ Favorite Son

Harry Connick Jr.: New Orleans’ Favorite Son

Harry Connick Jr. is what happens when New Orleans raises a kid right. Born in 1967 to a family steeped in both music and public service—his father, Harry Connick Sr., was the district attorney of Orleans Parish for nearly 30 years, and his mother, Anita, was a judge—young Harry was playing piano in French Quarter clubs before he was a teenager. He went on to become one of the most successful entertainers of his generation: a Grammy-winning musician, a movie star, a Broadway performer, a television host, and through it all, the most visible and vocal champion New Orleans has had since Louis Armstrong.

The Prodigy

Connick’s musical gifts were apparent from the start. He began studying piano at age three, performed publicly at five, and recorded with a local jazz band at ten. He studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts under Ellis Marsalis Jr.—the same teacher who shaped Wynton and Branford Marsalis—and at eighteen headed to New York to attend Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music. His big break came when he recorded the soundtrack for the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally, a collection of jazz standards that sold millions of copies and introduced him to a national audience that had no idea a kid from New Orleans could swing like that.

The Career

Connick’s career has been remarkably diverse. He has released over 30 albums spanning jazz, pop, funk, and big band. He has acted in films including Memphis Belle, Copycat, Independence Day, and Hope Floats. He starred on Broadway in The Pajama Game and wrote the score for a Broadway musical adaptation of the film New in Town. He hosted his own daytime talk show, Harry, from 2016 to 2018. And through it all, he has maintained a standard of musicianship that earns the respect of serious jazz musicians even as he reaches pop audiences.

Katrina and the Comeback

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Connick was one of the first celebrities on the ground, personally rescuing stranded residents by boat in the flooded Ninth Ward. The images were broadcast worldwide and helped focus national attention on the disaster. In the years that followed, Connick co-founded the Musicians’ Village in the Upper Ninth Ward with Branford Marsalis—a development of affordable homes for displaced musicians, anchored by the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. The project helped bring musicians back to the city and ensured that the cultural lifeblood of New Orleans would survive the storm.

Forever NOLA

Connick has homes in Connecticut and New Orleans and splits his time between them, but there is never any question about where his heart lives. He performs at Jazz Fest regularly, supports local charities and institutions, and speaks about New Orleans with the kind of love that only someone who grew up on its streets can summon. In a city full of famous exports, Harry Connick Jr. might be the one who has done the most to give back.