When I was 13 and in my first year of learning drumset, my
teacher let me borrow Harry Connick, Jr.’s We Are In Love so that I could hear, play along with, and come to learn the
jazz cymbal swing pulse. It was my first introduction to that style from a
musical & interactive standpoint: sure, I had heard jazz music before, but
never in a context of trying to learn it for myself. It was through Harry
Connick, Jr.’s music that I first came to know and love jazz.
Seventeen years later, I remained a dedicated and enthusiastic
fan of Connick’s. Growing in my understanding of music throughout the years, I
came to appreciate his remarkable musical capacity all the more. I followed him
through his forays away from the swing & big band genres that served to
launch his career and into funk & hardcore jazz & New Orleans street
music, and I always found myself more impressed with his artistry upon every
subsequent album release.
So much so that when he put out Every Man Should Know earlier this year,
I felt compelled to write a review of it right here on this blog. The album so
impressed me that I wanted to share my excitement for it with you Electric
Medicine readers (as I am wont to do) in the hopes that I might prompt a few of
you to pick it up for yourselves and, subsequently, help to bolster what is no-doubt
an already impressive record collection.
So far, nothing too far out of the
box. I love music and I love taking the time to write about the music that I
love here on this blog. I’ve done it before and I will most probably do it
again.
Which brings us to...
It was this particular review that
somehow managed (through the magic of Google, I’m led to believe) to end up on
the monitor screen of someone who happened to work in the office of Mr. Connick’s
publicist. And, in a demonstration of apparent appreciation & remarkable
generosity, someone over there decided it would be worth their while to offer
my wife and I free tickets to one of Connick’s upcoming concerts. After a
little hammering-out of details, the missus and I decided to head out to
Seattle to catch the performance there and turn the whole experience into a
summer vacation road trip.
What we didn’t know was…
Upon our arrival at the
aforementioned concert (outside on the grounds of the beautiful Chateau Ste.
Michelle Winery, no less), we were more than a bit surprised to learn that not
only were there tickets waiting for us at Will Call, but after show passes, as
well!
The seats were some of the best in
the house, and the concert itself would have been more than enough to make the
entire 1,400-mile trip worth it. I’ve always known Connick to be a masterful
musician and owning a few of his concert DVDs certainly clued me in to the quality
of the performances he happens also to put on. But, seeing as how this was the
very first time I was getting to see him live in-person, I was still floored by
the magnificent celebration of music that took place that night. Connick &
his band effortlessly blended just about all of the styles for which he has
come to be known into one astounding concert, and even included a few surprises
I certainly didn’t see coming (including his father, Harry Connick, Sr.,
joining him on stage for a performance of ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ and the most
heartrending version of ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ I have ever heard).
 |
| A night with Connick, Jr. ... and Sr. |
But, all too quickly, the show was
over and Beth & I eventually found ourselves joining a few other folks for
a relaxed meet-and-greet session with the man himself in the
guest-house-turned-dressing-room that sits away from the Chateau’s stage. Much
to my elation, I got to tell Harry Connick, Jr. face-to-face my story of having
learned my first lessons in jazz-swing through his music. I got to shake his
hand and tell him how I’ve loved and appreciated his art for more than half of
my life. I got to meet one of my all-time biggest musical heroes and tell him
how much I enjoyed his performance that night.
Having been on the other side of it…
I realize that people like Harry
Connick hear the stories of adoration from their fans all the time. He’s
probably had dozens, if not hundreds, of people tell him during this current
tour alone how much they appreciate what he does and how well he does it.
But that’s not the point. The
point is that I got to tell him. The
exciting part of this whole thing was not only getting to meet one of my heroes
and realizing that despite all of the years of success and his almost unparalleled
amount of music talent, he’s still a down-to-earth, humble, and hilariously
funny cat. It was also getting to let him know how much his stuff has meant to me. It was important and special for
me to have the opportunity to tell him myself,
and that, perhaps more than anything, serves to remind me that I’m still very
much – despite my own musical aspirations, routines, understanding, career,
successes, and failures – a fan. And a fan is a very special thing to be.
So with all of that said…
I hope any lesson to be gleaned
from this story is obvious to anyone who reads it. If not, let me point you
toward something – the one thing, really – I would want you to realize in all
of it.
Just do what you do. Do what you
love to do and love doing it. I love music and I love writing. I put the two
together in a blog online (for which I have yet to make one single solitary red
cent of profit) and got to meet one of my biggest heroes as a result. I admit
it: it was a completely random & unexpected consequence to me trying to get
a few people to listen to a great CD. But, such is life from time to time.
Forrest was right about that, at least: you never know what you’re gonna get.
Connick told a story during his
concert about how he found Arthur Latin, his drummer for the past 15 years. He
was in Austin, Texas filming the movie Hope
Floats and went into a club to hear some music after shooting had wrapped
for the day. Latin was playing that night and demonstrated such a primal and
unabashed understanding of the New Orleans groove that Connick so cherishes &
craves for his own music that he hired Latin, and they’ve played together ever
since.
Think of that.
Steve Lukather once told me (in
an e-mail response to what was assuredly fan mail) to always play your heart
out, no matter what the gig, because you never know who’s in the audience.
Connick’s story about how he met and hired Arthur Latin as his drummer was a
can’t-miss reiteration of that very principle. I hope this crazy story of mine
serves as a less obvious, but still legitimate, restatement of it, as well. Do what
you love to do and do it with all your heart. You never know what might come
because of it.
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