Harry Connick, Jr. – Alone With My Faith

1. Alone With My Faith (Harry Connick, Jr.)
2. Because He Lives (William J. Gaither & Gloria Gaither)
3. Be Not Afraid (Robert J. Dufford, SJ.)
4. Benevolent Man (Harry Connick, Jr.)
5. Amazing Grace (John Newton)
6. Old Rugged Cross (George Bennard)
7. How Great Thou Art (Stuart K. Hine)
8. God And My Gospel (Harry Connick, Jr.)
9. Old Time Religion (Traditional)
10. All These Miracles (Harry Connick, Jr.)
11. Look Who I Found (Harry Connick, Jr.)
12. Thank You For Waiting (For Me) (Harry Connick, Jr.)
13. Panis Angelicus (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

All Instruments and Vocals by Harry Connick, Jr.

Arranged by Harry Connick, Jr.

Produced & Recorded by Harry Connick, Jr.

Man kennt ihn als erfolgreichen Jazz-Pianist und -Sänger, mit seinem neuen Album will Harry Connick, Jr. eine weitere Facette seiner Musik und Persönlichkeit zeigen.

Connick war die musikalische Stimme des Filmklassikers „Harry & Sally“, der auch heute noch rührt und amüsiert, lernte als Teenager seine Jazz-Chops beim Marsalis-Clan und brachte den swingenden Jazzgesang lange vor Nachzüglern wie Michael Bublé in die Charts. 30 Millionen Alben verkauft man nicht mal so nebenbei. In den letzten Jahren machte er als Schauspieler und mit einer erfolgreichen US-Talkshow von sich reden.

Die weltweite Pandemie und die politischen Turbulenzen in den USA lassen auch einen Künstler wie Connick, Jr. nicht unbeeindruckt. Deshalb hat er sich für sein neues Album nicht das Motto „Business als usual“ verordnet, sondern tief in sich hineingehört. Neben seiner beeindruckenden Meisterschaft als Jazzmusiker, die ihm immerhin vierzehn GRAMMY-Nominierungen, drei GRAMMYs, zwei EMMYs und einen TONY eingebracht hat, ist Connick ein Mensch und Musiker mit religiösen Überzeugungen.

Auf “Alone With My Faith” singt und spielt er Standards und eigene Songs mit christlichen Themen. Was natürlich nicht bedeutet, dass Jazz, Blues und R&B hier keine Rolle spielen, denn die waren ja schon oft die Seele eindrucksvoller Gospelinterpretationen der Vergangenheit.

Der vielleicht herausragendste Titel auf dem Album ist „Amazing Grace”. Das geistliche Lied gehört zu den beliebtesten Kirchenliedern der Welt und hat längst auch viele andere Bereiche erobert. Die Melodie tauchte erstmals in einem Gesangbuch von 1831 auf. In späteren Versionen fügten Künstler wie Pete Seeger und Arlo Guthrie neue Strophen hinzu. Künstler der afroamerikanischen Spiritual- und Gospelszene übernahmen das Werk ebenfalls in ihren Kanon, berühmte Interpretationen stammen von Mahalia Jackson und Aretha Franklin. „Amazing Grace“ gilt als Protestsong gegen die Sklaverei und Hymne christlicher wie nicht-christlicher Menschenrechtsaktivisten. Am 20. Januar 2021 wurde „Amazing Grace“ von Garth Brooks bei der Amtseinführung von Joe Biden vor dem Capitol gesungen.

HARRY CONNICK JR Personal Statement

In March 2020, right after news of the pandemic hit, when my tour was cancelled and I headed home for however long it would last, I decided to record some music. Not only because I wanted to, but because I needed to. With no tour dates in sight, and with everyone’s realities upended and futures uncertain, recording was what was necessary for me to help guide me through the uncharted odyssey in which we all unexpectedly found ourselves. I found myself alone (with my faith!) in my home studio, surrounded by instruments and gear, bursting with an abundance of ideas. I was able to go deep within myself as a musician and a man, uninterrupted by the normalcies of collaboration or human interaction. It was a sort of “musical isolation chamber”, a silent retreat, the silence only broken by the sound of my own voice, the instruments I played and the occasional microphone I inadvertently knocked over, as I’m not the most graceful recording engineer that ever lived!

Seven months later, after countless tracks and edits, I can say that it was not only the secluded nature of the recording process, but the content of the songs themselves that helped me through this strange period. In fact, this was the first time that I found this level of comfort, peace and truth throughout the process of making music. Because the lyrics are all about the spectrum of faith, I found myself interpreting them in real time – they were allowing me to heal as much as I wanted them to help heal others. I didn’t have to pretend or put myself in another place or time, as one often does as a singer or actor.

Besides the familiar, traditional songs, I wrote and recorded new music that tells the story of my experience during the lockdown. I, like most of us, felt joy, sadness, doubt, conviction, melancholy and inspiration – all the emotions that faith, or lack thereof, can elicit. Even though many of the songs are Christian, my hope is that they will resonate with people of all faiths, as it gives me great comfort to know that faith is an immeasurably beautiful gift that, with its universal spirit, can help bring us together in the most arduous of times.

Some notes on the recording process…

I set up the mics and did all of the tracking.

I used Logic to track and edit. When I was playing an immovable instrument, like drums or organ, I used Logic Remote, with my iPad as the controller. I sang all of the lead and background vocals, as well as played each of the instruments. In addition to all of the acoustic instruments, I used many electric instruments – basses, guitars, synthesizers, etc. However, there are no “soft synths” on this recording – all synthesizers, keyboards and organs are real. No instruments were „in the box“. After all of the edits were made and all of the tracks consolidated, I sent the files to my good friend, Tracey Freeman, to mix. A couple of weeks later, I rented an RV and drove to New Orleans to finish the mixing process with him at his home studio.

Radio-Kontakte

Media Promotion (Promotion Süd, West & Nord)

Rosita Falke
info@rosita-falke.de, Tel: 040 – 413 545 05

Musicforce
Anja Sziedat (Promotion Berlin / Ost)
anja.musicforce@gmail.com, Tel: 030 – 419 59 615, Mobil: 0177 – 611 5675