Your Songs
Introduction '''''Your Songs''''' is a studio album by American jazz singer Harry Connick Jr. that was released by Columbia. It was released first in the United States on a limited edition double vinyl LP on August 25, 2009, then on CD on September 22.
Background Most of the songs were chosen by record producer Clive Davis, who aimed towards classic, familiar songs, as contemporary as possible. Davis had expressed an interest in working with Connick. Connick had an idea of bringing in a famous arranger for the album, but Davis suggested Connick do the arrangements himself.The song "Bésame Mucho" was suggested by Connick's father, Harry Connick Sr., a former district attorney for the Parish of Orleans. They sang a duet on the album ''New Orleans...My Home Town'' (1998). Branford and Wynton Marsalis contribute to the album. Both are multiple Grammy winners. Both are childhood friends of Connick. Trumpeter Wayne Bergeron and guitarist Bryan Sutton also play on the album.Connick said in a radio interview that "Smile" was dedicated to a girl named Nicola. She and her mother attended one of Connick's shows in Paris, France, several years before. Nicola was seven at the time, and Connick took her on a tour of Paris. They stood under the Eiffel Tower. Although she was blind, she knew where she was and had a smile on her face.
Promotion On August 4, 2009, Connick had an album listening party in New York City, hosted by Sony Music chief creative executive Clive Davis. Amongst those in attendance were Alan Cumming, Bernadette Peters, Brian Williams, Kelli O'Hara, Rachael Ray, Mario Cantone, Rosie Perez, and David Hyde Pierce.A number of public listening events were held, from August 24–30, 2009.Connick did not attend the exclusive vinyl listening events, which were held in cities such as Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Oakland, California, New Orleans, West Babylon, New York, and Los Angeles.He made a number of TV appearances in September and October 2009.In September he appeared on ''Oprah'' on the 25th, then on ''Today'' (28th), ''The View'' (29th), and ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and ''Imus in the Morning'' on September 30.In October, he was a guest on the ''Today'' on the 1st, ''Rachael Ray'' in the week of October 5, and he set out to a week-long promotional tour in Australia from October 2 through to 9th, which included a visit to ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'', and an appearance as a guest judge on ''Australian Idol'' on October 11, 2009.
Release French First Lady Carla BruniThe album was released first in the United States on a limited edition double vinyl LP on August 25, 2009.The CD album was released on September 22.The first single of the album was Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You", and it was released exclusively on Amazon.com on August 25, 2009.After the U.S. release, Connick was in Paris, France in September 2009, to record a song with French First Lady Carla Bruni. She and Connick's wife, Jill Goodacre, both former supermodels, are long time friends. The duet is a French and Italian version of "And I love her", written by Lennon–McCartney. The duet is released as a bonus track on European editions of ''Your Songs''.As of 2013, the album has sold 396,000 copies in United States.
Tour A worldwide concert tour began in January 2010.===Tour dates===+ List of concerts, showing date, city, and venue Date City Venue'''North America (Early 2010)'''January 23, 2010 Indio, CaliforniaFantasy Springs CasinoJanuary 24, 2010Temecula, CaliforniaPechanga Resort & Casino January 26, 2010Santa Barbara, CaliforniaArlington Theatre January 27, 2010Friant, CaliforniaTable Mountain CasinoJanuary 28, 2010San DiegoCopley Symphony Hall February 11, 2010 Fort Myers, FloridaBarbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall February 12, 2010Clearwater, FloridaRuth Eckerd HallFebruary 13, 2010Melbourne, FloridaKing Center for Performing Arts February 14, 2010 Jacksonville, FloridaFlorida Theatre February 16, 2010Durham, North CarolinaDurham Performing Arts CenterFebruary 17, 2010Charleston, West VirginiaThe Clay Center February 18, 2010BaltimoreThe Lyric Opera House February 19, 2010Virginia Beach, VirginiaSandler Center for the Performing ArtsFebruary 23, 2010 Nashville, TennesseeRyman Auditorium February 25, 2010Huntsville, AlabamaVon Braun Center February 26, 2010Birmingham, AlabamaAlabama TheatreFebruary 27, 2010Memphis, TennesseeCannon CenterFebruary 28, 2010IndianapolisMurat Theatre '''New Zealand (2010)''' March 13, 2010AucklandCivic Theatre March 14, 2010WellingtonMichael Fowler CentreMarch 16, 2010 ChristchurchTown Hall'''Australia (2010)''' March 19, 2010  MelbournePlenaryMarch 20, 2010  AdelaideHer Majesty's Theatre March 22, 2010SydneyOpera House March 25, 2010BrisbaneConvention Centre March 27, 2010 PerthKings Park'''Europe (2010)'''May 13, 2010Paris  Salle Pleyel May 14, 2010'''Asia (2010)'''* May 16 – Abu Dhabi Hall – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates'''Europe (2010)'''* May 18 – Istanbul Kongre Merkezi – Istanbul, Turkey* May 21 – Mawazine Festival – Rabat, Morocco'''North America (2010)'''* June 9 – The View, New York* June 10 – Late Show with David Letterman, New York* June 11 – Fox Theatre, St. Louis* June 12 – PNC Pavilion, Cincinnati* June 13 – Charlottesville Pavilion, Charlottesville, Virginia* June 15 – The Filene Center at Wolf Trap Vienna, Virginia* June 16 – Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, North Carolina* June 18 – Peace Center for the Performing Arts, Greenville, South Carolina* June 19 – Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta* June 21 – Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, Indiana* June 22–23 – Chicago Theatre, Chicago* June 25 – Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Aspen, Colorado* June 27 – Toronto Jazz Festival – Canon Theatre, Toronto'''Asia (2010)'''* July 2 – USA Pavilion, National Day Gala Performance, Shanghai, China'''North America (2010)'''* July 15–31 Neil Simon Theatre, New York* August 13–14 – Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California* September 17 – Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort Reno, Nevada* September 18 – The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California* September 19 – Monterey Jazz Festival – Jimmy Lyons Stage, Monterey, California* September 21 – Wente Vineyards, Livermore, California* September 22 – Britt Pavilion, Jacksonville, Oregon* September 24 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC* September 25 – Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Washington* September 26 – Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Washington* September 28 – Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, Oregon* September 29 – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, New Jersey* September 30 – The Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania'''North America (2011)'''* March 25 – WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma* March 26 – Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, Texas* March 28 – River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana* March 29 – Jones Hall, Houston* April 1 – IP Casino Resort & Spa, Biloxi, Mississippi* April 2 – IP Casino Resort & Spa, Biloxi, Mississippi* April 4 – Mahalia Jackson Theater, New Orleans* April 7 – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, Florida* April 8 – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida* April 9 – Mizner Park Amphitheater at Downtown Boca, Boca Raton, Florida* April 10 – Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, Orlando, Florida* April 11 – Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida* April 20 – Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey* April 21 – Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey* April 22 – MGM Grand Theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut* 04/26/2011 – 04/30/2011 The Colonial Theatre, Boston
Broadway He held a series of concerts, called ''Harry Connick Jr. in Concert on Broadway'', at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway, from July 15 to July 31, 2010.The concerts on July 30 and 31 were filmed live, and aired on PBS on March 2, 2011 for a "Great Performances" special on the concerts. These were also released on video, CD/DVD and album in March 2011, as ''Harry Connick Jr.: In Concert on Broadway''.Harry Connick Jr. won an Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Music Direction for ''Harry Connick Jr. In Concert on Broadway''.The ''In Concert on Broadway'' album is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Track listing ===Barnes & Noble Exclusive Version======iTunes======European Editions======Japan Edition======Deluxe Limited Edition CD/DVD package===*US only. Available through  hconnickjr.com. *DVD includes behind the scenes footage, and the "(They Long To Be) Close To You" music video
Personnel *Harry Connick Jr. – vocals, piano*Branford Marsalis – saxophone (track #1)*Wynton Marsalis – trumpet (track #3)*Leroy Jones – trumpet (track #5)*Ben Wolfe – bass*Arthur Latin II – drums *Bryan Sutton – guitar*Roger Ingram – trumpet*Wayne Bergeron – trumpet*John Fumo – trumpet*Warren Lunning – trumpet*The Honolulu Heartbreakers – vocals
Release history  Country Date Label Format United States August 25, 2009 Columbia LP September 22, 2009 CD, digital download Canada September 22, 2009 Sony Australia September 25, 2009 United Kingdom October 26, 2009 Columbia Denmark October 26, 2009 Sony France October 26, 2009 Columbia, Sony  Norway October 26, 2009 Sony  Finland October 28, 2009 Netherlands October 28, 2009 Germany October 30, 2009 Japan November 11, 2009 Sony Music Japan CD
Chart positions Chart (2009)Peakposition Australian Albums Chart 9 Belgian Wallonia Chart 71 French Albums Chart 51 Irish Albums Chart 40 New Zealand Top Albums 10 UK Albums Chart 28
Awards and nominations ''Your Songs'' was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. This was announced on Wednesday, December 2, 2009.The 52nd Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles. The award went to Michael Bublé for his Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden.
References
External links *  Official site *  Harry Connick Jr. online interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' November 2009*  Video interview: Harry Connick Jr. and Clive Davis Talks About the Album at Access Hollywood