20

Performer: Harry Connick Jr.
Artist: Dr. John; Carmen McRae
Engineer: Tim Geelan
Producer: Kevin Blancq
Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment

Notes: Personnel: Harry Connick, Jr. (vocals, piano); Dr. John (vocals, organ); Carmen McRae (vocals); Robert Leslie Hurst III (bass). Recorded at Rca Studios, New York, New York in May & June 1988. Harry Connick, Jr.'s sophomore album was the first to feature the New Orleans-born pianist on vocals, and it proved to be an auspicious choice. A year after 20 was released, Connick's warm voice would appear on the soundtrack to the movie WHEN HARRY MET SALLY and make him an overnight superstar. The seeds of that stardom are sown on 20, however, with the young musician planting his feet firmly in traditional territory with both his material (he covers George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Irving Berlin) and vocal approach (nods to Frank Sinatra). The settings are mostly spare and unaccompanied, letting Connick's vocals and piano playing shine. The album's two duets, the first with fellow Big Easy native Dr. John on "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" and the second with Carmen McRae on "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," are particular highlights. Though 20 is sometimes overshadowed by Connick's better-selling, post-breakthrough records, it remains one of his most consistent and appealing.

Harry Connick, Jr. is an accomplished singer, pianist, and actor who emerged in the late 1980s as a Sinatra-style crooner for a new generation. As a musician, his influences include bebop, New Orleans jazz, and big-band swing. His score for the film WHEN HARRY MET SALLY brought him national acclaim and an Oscar. He subsequently appeared in a number of films, and made forays into pop music.

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