Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr. has made 24 albums and won multiple Grammys - yet he is only 40 years old. His range of musical styles is wide - from New Orleans jazz and funk to songbook standards, pop, instrumental and big band music. Born in New Orleans, his father was the district attorney for New Orleans and his mother a justice for the Louisiana Supreme Court. A child musical prodigy, Connick attended the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts where he studied with Ellis Marsalis. At 18 he moved to New York City to attend Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music; shortly after, he released his self titled first album with Columbia Records. Connick gained wider recognition when he was asked to compose the film score for When Harry met Sally (1989) and won a Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal. He also contributed to the soundtrack for Godfather III. During the 1990s he branched out into an acting career, appearing in such films as Memphis Belle, Copycat, Independence Day, Hope Floats, on Broadway in The Pajama Game, and the TV show Will and Grace. Harry Connick, Jr. has been a champion in the rebuilding of New Orleans post-Katrina. In the days and months following the hurricane he organized fundraising events, and in 2007 released a tribute album titled Oh, My Nola. He is the chair for Habitat for Humanity's projects to rebuild homes along the Gulf Coast, and was instrumental in the Musicians' Village, a program to provide New Orleans musicians with affordable housing.
