Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie

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Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie United States

Sony Music | 2010 | 107 min | Not rated | Mar 01, 2011

Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway (Blu-ray Movie), temporary cover art

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Buy Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway on Blu-ray Movie

Movie rating

6.5
 / 10

Blu-ray rating

Users0.0 of 50.0
Reviewer3.5 of 53.5
Overall3.5 of 53.5

Overview

Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway (2010)

Harry Connick, Jr. performs live on stage with a full jazz orchestra.

Director: Pierre Lamoureux, Francois Lamoureux

Music100%

Specifications

  • Video

    Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
    Video resolution: 1080p
    Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
    Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1

  • Audio

    English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (96kHz, 24-bit)
    English: LPCM 2.0
    English: Dolby Digital 5.1

  • Subtitles

    None

  • Discs

    25GB Blu-ray Disc
    Single disc (1 BD)

  • Playback

    Region A (B, C untested)

Review

Rating summary

Movie3.5 of 53.5
Video4.5 of 54.5
Audio4.5 of 54.5
Extras2.5 of 52.5
Overall3.5 of 53.5

Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie Review

Ol' Blue Eyes, Jr.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 7, 2011

Harry Connick, Jr. may not overtly invite comparisons to Frank Sinatra, but he certainly doesn’t exactly discourage them, either. Connick sounds a lot like Sinatra, just not in terms of timbre, but perhaps even more importantly, phrasing and his vowel placements. He also embodies that kind of casual swinging ambience that was epitomized by the Chairman of the Board. But like Sinatra, Connick has never really had outstanding success on stage. Sinatra never even tried to storm the ramparts of the Great White Way, and pretty much limited his stage appearances to concert performances, something which Connick has mimicked. But you have to hand it to Connick, who is nothing if not ambitious, seemingly out to prove he is master of many trades. Connick took a starring role in the relatively recent revival of the Adler and Ross classic The Pajama Game, to decidedly mixed reviews, and he contributed music and lyrics to a short-lived 2001 musical entitled Thou Shalt Not, a fairly sizable flop based on an Émile Zola novel which most critics found overly pretentious despite some impressive elements in Connick’s compositional contributions. Taking the stage of the Neil Simon Theater, in front of an expanded orchestra which includes not just Connick’s usual battery of jazz players but also a large string section, Connick floats through a wide variety of material, everything from standards from the Great American Songbook to Bossa Nova to New Orleans barrelhouse blues. Unfortunately, Connick neither looks nor sounds up to his usual self. He has a slightly bedraggled appearance here which may point to a cold or somesuch malady, and his voice is often plagued by a raspiness which he seeks to mold into a Sinatra-esque world weariness. But Connick is a game professional, and he reveals himself to be an energetic and self-deprecating performer who is able to provide a solid evening’s entertainment.


Connick perhaps does himself a disservice by not shirking from the Sinatra legacy. In this concert he not only does tunes overtly associated with Frank, like the Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields standard “The Way You Look Tonight” and the Cahn and van Heusen classic “All the Way,” he also alludes to Sinatra’s long flirtation with Bossa Nova with Antonio Carlos Jobim’s haunting “How Insensitive.” Sinatra famously collaborated with Jobim himself on two beautiful Reprise albums (one with the added participation of Eumir Deodato), and that gave Sinatra’s approach the imprimatur of authenticity. While Connick certainly sings well enough, at least taking into consideration he may have been fighting some sort of bug, those with memories long enough to conjure up images of Sinatra crooning next to Jobim seated strumming his guitar on a stool may feel they’re being offered an ersatz experience that can’t come close to the original.

What works much, much better here are Connick’s nods to his own New Orleans heritage. When he starts Act Two of this performance at an old rinky-tink upright piano (as opposed to the grand he plays for the bulk of the concert), we finally get a taste of what seems to be something authentic. Connick wisely revisits several great old blues numbers throughout the concert, and it in these moments that the night becomes fully vibrant and even exciting.

Despite the frequent feeling we’re watching a Xerox copy of Sinatra throughout at least parts of this evening, Connick acquits himself brilliantly in the personable department. His offhand comments between songs are frequently very funny, and he obviously has a great rapport with his stellar group of musicians. The band in fact is one of the best calling cards for checking out this concert. Connick is backed by a full string section as well as some propulsive brass. Also check out the tablet he has mounted on the grand which scrolls the lyrics for him. Some poor page turner is obviously permanently out of a job.

We Are in Love
The Way You Look Tonight
Besame Mucho
The Other Hours
Nowhere With Love
How Insensitive
Come By Me
My Time of Day/I’ve Never Been in Love Before
All the Way
Bayou Maharajah
Recipe for Love
Hear Me in the Harmony
Light the Way
Tug Boat
St. James Infirmary Blues
Take Her to the Mardi Gras
How Come You Do Me Like You Do?
Oh, Didn’t He Ramble
Bourbon Street Parade
Mardi Gras in New Orleans


Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality  4.5 of 5

Harry Connick, Jr. In Concert on Broadway was shot on high definition video, and its AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 has a well detailed and very sharp image to commend it. In fact fine detail is so supercharged that you can virtually count the stubbles on Connick's face, and not just in extreme close-ups. In fact the level of detail seems to reveal Connick looking a little pallid and perhaps sick. The stage presentation is quite colorful, with a nice lighting scheme that alternates between cool blues and warm reds, and the Blu-ray's resolution provides beautifully saturated color throughout. Black levels are solid and contrast remains strong throughout the entire concert.


Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality  4.5 of 5

Harry Connick, Jr. In Concert on Broadway presents two lossless audio tracks, a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix (96kHz/24-bit) and an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo mix (also 96kHz/24-bit), as well as a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 640 kpbs. The Dolby TrueHD mix is startlingly robust and in fact I personally wish the bass had been mixed down just a little lower as it's overpowering at times and buries some of the fine lower piano and brass work. Though Connick isn't in the most exceptional voice I've ever heard, the 5.1 mix presents him with a nice fluid fidelity, and the band sounds especially impressive. There are some very minor, passing intonation issues with some of the strings, but the fidelity and dynamic range of the 5.1 track provides a very "real" sounding concert that offers just the right amount of hall ambience.


Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras  2.5 of 5

A Conversation with Harry (HD; 26:40) is a nice sit down with the congenial singer and actor. Harry discusses his history as a musician, including his two Broadway concert appearances as well as Pajama Game and his own Thou Shalt Not. This shows Connick to be a very amiable personality who's very easy to like.


Harry Connick, Jr.: In Concert on Broadway Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation  3.5 of 5

Connick probably should try to distance himself as far as possible from the Sinatra legacy unless he wants critics like yours truly to be constantly faulting him for aping the master's approach. The ironic thing about this whole thing is that Connick has talent to spare in any number of pursuits and doesn't even need to tip his hat so seriously to Sinatra, either consciously or otherwise. The best moments of this concert are Connick's homages to his New Orleans heritage, and in those sequences, this concert achieves a great party ambience that helps to overcome the more lounge lizard Sinatra-wannabe leanings. Even though Connick appears to be perhaps slightly under the weather here, there's certainly enough sterling musicianship on display in this wonderful looking and sounding Blu-ray to make it Recommended.


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