The My New Orleans Tour was a 2007 concert tour by American singer, pianist, and actor

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

backed by his big band. The tour promoted his albums '' Oh, My NOLA'' (''My New Orleans'') and ''

Chanson du Vieux Carré A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music, Renaissance music. ...

''. The first concert of the tour was on February 23, 2007 at the

Mizner Park Mizner Park is a high-end shopping, residential, and entertainment district located in the affluent downtown neighborhood of Boca Raton, FL. The district consists of a collection of high-end shops and restaurants with luxury apartments built in a ...

Amphitheatre in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. The first part of the tour took place in the USA and Canada. The second part of the tour was in Europe, and in 2008 the tour came to Asia and Australia. One of the dates was the closing act at the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

, on May 6, 2007. Connick was also supposed to be part of a concert with

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

ist

Alvin Batiste Alvin Batiste (November 7, 1932 – May 6, 2007) was an American avant-garde jazz clarinetist born, who was in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He taught at his own jazz institute at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hi ...

at the same festival, called "Marsalis Music honors Alvin Batiste & Bob French". However, Batiste died of an apparent heart attack only hours before he was to perform. The concert, that also included

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

and Bob French, went on as planned, in memory of Alvin Batiste. At the Montreal Jazz Festival, on June 30, 2007, Connick received the

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Award, "in recognition of the versatility, improvisational originality and quality of repertoire of a jazz singer renowned on the international scene." For the March 9, 2008 concert in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China, an old set list had mistakenly been given to Chinese authorities when applying for permits to play in China. An hour before the concert, authorities showed up, and the old set list was found to contain songs that were considered inappropriate to perform, and a number of "safe" songs were added. Connick & co. revised the set list with current songs, but did not get approval. Connick's big band did not have the charts for the permitted songs on the old set list, so they often remained quiet through the concert. Connick issued a statement four days later, saying "Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was not able to give my fans in China the show I intended." The issue that China had with Connick's setlist, was likely to stem from a March 2 concert with

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, who dedicated a song to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

at the end of her performance. (See Björk: "Declare Independence" live dedications)

Personnel

Band

* Singing, vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

: Lucien Barbarin, Joe Barati, Jeff Bush, Dion Tucker *

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

: Roger Ingram,

Derrick Gardner Derrick Gardner (born June 3, 1965) is an American jazz trumpeter from Chicago, Illinois. Gardner began playing trumpet at the age of 9 in his hometown of Chicago. In 1991, he moved to New York City and played with groups such as the Count Ba ...

, Mark Braud,

Leroy Jones Leroy Jones may refer to: * Leroy Jones (American football) (1950–2021), American football player in the United States and Canada * Leroy Jones (boxer) (1950–2010), heavyweight * Leroy Jones (trumpeter) (born 1958), American jazz musician *LeR ...

, Bijon Watson *

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

: Neal Caine *

Alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

: Charles "Ned" Goold *

Baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

: David Schumacher *

Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

: Jerry Weldon *

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

: Arthur Latin Band member Dion Tucker proposed to his girlfriend, on stage during the concert on April 21, 2007, in

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

, in New York Cit

Setlist (incomplete)

There are variations from concert to concert, and also a number of songs not named here, have been performed. Songs performed most regularly, or quite often *instrumental medley of classic tunes and Connick original

*"Come By Me

(from his 1999 album '' Come By Me'') *"Let Them Talk" (from his 2007 album '' Oh, My NOLA'') *"

Working In The Coal Mine "Working in the Coal Mine" is a song with music and lyrics by the American musician and record producer Allen Toussaint. It was an international hit for Lee Dorsey in 1966, and has been recorded by other musicians including Devo in 1981. Lee Do ...

" (from ''Oh, My NOLA'') *"

Jambalaya (On The Bayou) "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. It is Williams' most covered song. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerou ...

" (from ''Oh, My NOLA'') *" Hello Dolly" (from ''Oh, My NOLA'') *" Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?" (from ''Oh, My NOLA'') *"

All These People "All These People" is the first single from Harry Connick Jr.'s 2007 album '' Oh my NOLA'', and the single was released on iTunes on August 29, 2006. Music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr. The lyrics were inspired by the suffering Connick witness ...

" (from ''Oh, My NOLA'') *"Yes We Can" (from ''Oh, My NOLA'') *"

Basin Street Blues "Basin Street Blues" is a song often performed by Dixieland jazz bands, written by Spencer Williams in 1928 and recorded that year by Louis Armstrong. The verse with the lyric "Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi..." was later added ...

(from his 1988 album '' 20 (Harry Connick Jr. album), 20'') *"Didn't He Ramble" (from his 1992 album '' 25'') Other performed songs (1 or several times) *"Dan Dan the Driving Ma

(new, unrecorded, about Dan who drives the tour bus) *" On the Sunny Side of the Street

(from his 1987 album '' Harry Connick Jr. (album), Harry Connick Jr.'') *" Sweet Georgia Brown

(from his 1979 album '' 11 (Harry Connick Jr. album), Eleven'') *"New Orleans

(from his 2007 album '' Chanson du Vieux Carré : Connick On Piano, Volume 3, Chanson du Vieux Carré'') *"

Sugar Blues ''Sugar Blues'' is a book by William Dufty that was released in 1975 and has become a dietary classic. According to the publishers, over 1.6 million copies have been printed. Dufty uses the narrative form to delve into the history of sugar and ...

(unrecorded) *"Do Dat Thing

(from his 2007 album '' Oh, My NOLA'') *"

St. James Infirmary Blues "St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song and jazz standard of uncertain origin. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a ...

(bonus track on his 1999 album '' Come By Me'') *"

Mardi Gras in New Orleans The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in all of Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Western C ...

(from his 2007 album '' Chanson du Vieux Carré : Connick On Piano, Volume 3, Chanson du Vieux Carré'') *" It Had to Be You (song), It Had to Be You

(from his 1989 album '' When Harry Met Sally...#Soundtrack, When Harry Met Sally...'')

Tour dates

References

External links

CBS 5's Liam Mayclem interview with Harry Connick Jr. on tour
May 24, 2007 {{Harry Connick Jr. 2007 concert tours Harry Connick Jr.