In its 100-plus-year history, the Hollywood Bowl has established many traditions, none more beloved than fireworks on (and around) the 4th of July. That annual spectacle comes, of course, with musical accompaniment, and this year, Harry Connick Jr. was all too happy to oblige.
The New Orleans native became a product of Hollywood over the course of his career, but Harry established himself as an accomplished musician long before he played Grace’s husband Leo Markus on the hit 1990s sitcom Will and Grace. That talent was on full display at the core of a show that Thomas Wilkins, the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, dubbed “American Treasures.”
To that end, the LA Phil warmed up the crowd with some pillars of American music. There was “America” from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, the overture to George Gershwin’s Girl Crazy, and Duke Ellington’s piece “Solitude”, not to mention the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “America The Beautiful”, in addition to William Schuman’s “Chester” and a salute to America’s Armed Forces.
Once his portion of the proceedings began, Harry spent a bit over an hour showcasing the all-around talents that have made him an American treasure. The 56-year-old showed off his prodigious piano skills during a set-opening rendition of Paco de Lucia’s “Tico Tico”. He reminisced about his big break, in both music and movies, on the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally as an introduction to “It Had To Be You”.
From there, he persisted with Frank Sinatra jazz standards by crooning to “September Song” and “The Way You Look Tonight”, and later dropped in “I Love Paris” for good measure. Halfway through his set, Harry busted out Lotte Lenya’s “Lost in the Stars”, though he himself had no trouble standing out, even with the likes of Robin Thicke and Fran Drescher in attendance.
Despite the tightly timed set, Harry still had ample opportunity to take his own quirky personality out for a walk. Before his rendition of Jelly Roll Morton’s “Dr. Jazz”, he went on a laughter-inducing diatribe about his tailored trousers being too long. After singing the scintillating “One Fine Thing”, he ragged on Thomas Wilkins for choosing that track, in particular, as the standout from the setlist.
Harry even took a moment to joke at his hometown’s expense, highlighting the left-handed-ness of traditional NOLA piano playing en route to his original song “City Beneath the Sea”. Quips aside, Harry brought just enough heart to balance out the comedy on offer. He dedicated the piano solo in “Come By Me” to his daughter, Georgia, and proceeded to burst into an epic solo on his keys. Almost as epic as, say, the John Philip Sousa-soundtracked fireworks show that Thomas conducted thereafter.
With the audience’s eyes still wide from the colorful display of skyward explosives, Harry returned to the stage to end the evening with another New Orleans jazz standard, “Bourbon Street Parade”.
Tuesday’s performance kicked off a short but sweet stretch of West Coast shows for Harry Connick Jr. Following two more nights at the Hollywood Bowl—including on Independence Day—he is set to take his talents to San Diego, Saratoga, and Woodinville, WA. For a full list of upcoming shows and ticketing details details, visit his website.
July 2nd Fireworks At Hollywood Bowl
[Video: Barbara Dourmashkin-Case]
The post Harry Connick Jr. Shines Alongside LA Philharmonic & 4th Of July Fireworks At Hollywood Bowl [Recap/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
