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player ready...If you’re going to Harry Connick Jr.’s concert Saturday at the World Music Theatre expecting to hear him croon standards like “It Had To Be You” or “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” backed by a swinging big band, you may be in for a shock. On what he’s calling his “Funky Dunky” tour, Connick is playing almost exclusively the New Orleans-style funk, R&B, pop and, yes, rock ‘n’ roll that has made his current “She” album such a radical departure.
A quick glance at the album’s cover should be a clue that the 26-year-old New Orleans native is, at least temporarily, departing from the jazz, standards and big band fare that have netted him five platinum albums and three Grammy awards. Instead of the retro ’40s-style suits he’s usually clad in, this time around Connick is sporting a rock ‘n’ roll-style leather jacket.
As Connick explains it from a tour stop in Rochester, N.Y., the non-jazz, more rhythmically oriented material on his new album represents a return to his pre-“When Harry Met Sally” roots.
“This is the music I grew up playing in addition to jazz,” he said. “Funk and rock ‘n’ roll were also part of my childhood, and I’ve always wanted to do an album like this. Jazz was always the hardest kind of music to play, so I spent most of my time trying to figure that out, working with big bands and orchestras. Now that I’ve done eight or nine albums, I figured now would be a good time to play some different music and show people a different side of my musical heritage.”
The album was recorded in a converted warehouse in New Orleans, with material written by Connick and friend and lyricist Ramsey McLean. Some of the material recalls ’70s-era Stevie Wonder, while the influence of the legendary New Orleans funk combo the Meters surfaces on several songs. Not coincidentally, the original Meters’ rhythm section of bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste guests on the album. The album also includes a tribute to the late New Orleans piano master James Booker, as well as one song that borders on guitar-oriented heavy metal. Call this one Harry’s “party” album.
Connick says that he’s aware that “She” may alienate some of his fans.
“I’ve thought about it, because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard to get the fans I have now, and the last thing I want to do is offend or confuse them. I’ve been trying to make sure in advance that everyone knows what I was doing with this tour just to give them the option of coming to the show or not. Of course there are people at the concerts who are not aware of that. Every show there have been a few people who get up and leave. I just hope they’ll return when we come back doing a big band tour. But that’s cool. You can’t expect some people to like rock ‘n’ roll and funk.”
Several of the New Orleans musicians who played on the “She” album will make up Connick’s backing sextet at the World Music Theatre. Band member and trumpeter Leroy Jones will open with a set by his own quintet. Connick, who is five weeks into his current tour, says he’s been enjoying his musical change of pace.
“So far the crowds have been tremendous at the shows, and we’re having a wonderful time onstage,” he said. “Playing with a big band is fun, too, but on this tour my job is a lot easier. I don’t have to conduct or deal with 17 different intonations or more complex rhythms and harmonies. I just go out and play and we have a good time. And that’s all it’s really about, having fun.”
Other concerts of note
Basia and Spyro Gyra, Friday at Poplar Creek: Living in London for the last dozen years or so, Polish pop-jazz songstress Basia has a little-known Chicago connection. Early in her musical career she sang with a Warsaw-based group called Perfect, which came to Chicago for a six-month residency at a Polish nightclub on the Southwest Side. Now based in London, Basia is back with a follow-up to her million-selling 1990 album “London Warsaw New York.” “The Sweetest Illusion” features her standard mix of smooth Brazilian jazz-influenced tunes and the occasional pop-funk romp, with her powerful, charmingly accented vocals at the forefront. Just don’t listen too closely to her lyrics, which tend towards psycho-babble homilies. Opening is Spyro Gyra led by founder and saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, whose inoffensive pop-jazz instrumental music both prefigured and helped define the “smooth jazz” trend.
Nine Inch Nails, Hole and Marilyn Manson, Saturday at the UIC Pavilion: At Nine Inch Nails’ show at the Riviera in May, frontman Trent Reznor & Co. turned the nihilistic subject matter of the group’s highly successful “The Downward Spiral” album into a cathartic experience. More recently at Woodstock ’94, the band paid homage to its rain-drenched audience by playing caked with mud. Just added to this sold-out show is Hole, soldiering on despite the recent deaths of bassist Kristen Pfaff and frontwoman Courtney Love’s husband, Kurt Cobain. Opening are shock-rockers Marilyn Manson, whose misanthropic “Portrait Of An American Family” album (produced by NIN’s Reznor)suggests they’re either an Alice Cooper for the ’90s or just some very sick puppies.
Mercy Rule, Saturday at the Empty Bottle: You wouldn’t expect much fury out of a band from laidback Lincoln, Neb., but Mercy Rule vocalist-bassist Heidi Ore has attitude to burn and as aggressive a vocal delivery as any female modern rocker wearing Doc Martens today. She’s joined by her husband, Jon Taylor, on guitar and Ron Albertson on drums to create some post-punk, three-chords-and-the-truth rock ‘n’ roll. Besides, you gotta love a band that has the nerve to steal a song title (“I Am I Said”) from Neil Diamond.
Morphine, Tuesday through Thursday at the Double Door: Staggering into town for a three-night stint is Boston’s Morphine-not to be confused with Codeine or, for that matter, the Cowboy Junkies. Actually, after a listen to the group’s current “Cure For Pain” album, it would be difficult to confuse Morphine with anyone. The trio features Mark Sandman on vocals and two-string slide bass (!), Dana Colley on baritone saxophone and Jerome Deupree on drums, the latter replaced by Billy Conway for the current tour. Period. No guitar, no keyboards, no chordal instruments. Amazingly, that stripped-down approach works marvelously, with Sandman’s hypnotic vocals and solid songs shining through the admittedly odd instrumentation. Jazzy rhythms mix with bluesy sax riffs and Sandman’s elastic bass lines and cool vocals to create a truly singular and compelling sound.
The BoDeans, Thursday at Drink: Milwaukee’s finest are longtime Chicago favorites who last time through town sold out consecutive nights at the Riviera. Catch them as they play underneath the stars outside the club Drink at 541 W. Fulton St. with openers Citizen King and the Gufs.