Your Songs (CD - 2009)

Personnel: Harry Connick, Jr. (vocals, piano); George Doering, Bryan Sutton (guitar); Geoff Burke, Ned Goold, Bill Liston (alto saxophone); Ernie Watts, Jerry Weldon, Branford Marsalis, Mike Karn (tenor saxophone); Greg Huckins (baritone saxophone); Dave Smith , Joe Magnarelli, John Eckert, Warren Luening, Wayne Bergeron, Wynton Marsalis, Tony Kadleck, John Fumo, Roger Ingram (trumpet); Jeff Bush, Andy Martin, Bill Reichenbach Jr. , Dion Tucker, Stephen Holtman (trombone); Joe Barati (bass trombone); Dan Higgins (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixer: Vincent Caro .

Recording information: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; The Music Shed, New Orleans, LA.

Photographer: Palma Kolansky.

Arranger: Harry Connick, Jr.

Much like 2001's SONGS I HEARD and 2004's ONLY YOU, 2009's YOUR SONGS finds vocalist/pianist Harry Connick, Jr. coming up with an urbane, passionate set of American popular standards and contemporary pop classics that he both performs and orchestrates. While his previous recordings leaned toward the classicist side--ONLY YOU featured songs of the '50s and '60s--YOUR SONGS features a more eclectic mix of standards and pop songs, with Connick's own lush orchestration lending an overall aesthetic of languid romanticism. To this end, Connick turns Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" into a kind of Herb Alpert-inspired '60s pop nugget and, conversely, the Beatles' 1964 classic "And I Love Her" gets a kind of '70s Latin lounge feel with classical guitar flourishes. However, Connick isn't only concerned with reworking tunes in unexpected ways; on the contrary, longtime fans of Connick's swinging neo-crooner vocals will be pleasantly surprised by his straightforward takes on "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Some Enchanted Evening." Similarly engaging are his renditions of such rock-oriented tunes as Elton John's "Your Song," his low-key version of Don McLean's "And I Love You So," and the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Ultimately, YOUR SONG is a classy and feel-good stroll of an album. minimize