Harry Connick Jr

Short Summary:


Harry Connick Jr was named Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 11, 1967. His father, Harry Connick, Sr., of Irish Catholic descent, was the district attorney of New Orleans from 1977-2003. His New York-born Jewish mother, Anita, was a former Louisiana Supreme Court justice. His mother, Anita, died at home of ovarian cancer when he was thirteen, after a three-year battle with the disease. Connick has one older sister, Suzanna, a medical student in Roanoke, Virginia.”His parents also owned a record store. Connick's musical talents soon came to the fore when he learned the keyboards at the age of three, played publicly at age six and recorded with a local jazz band at 10. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis and James Booker.

Connick attended Jesuit High School and Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. He moved to New York City to study at Hunter College and the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where a Columbia Records executive persuaded him to sign with that label. His first record for the label, Harry Connick Jr., was a mainly instrumental album of standards. He soon acquired a reputation in jazz because of extended stays at high-profile New York venues. His next album, 20, featured his vocals and added to this reputation.