Back to basics: return to jazz, 1999—current
For his 1997 release
To See You, Connick recorded original love songs, touring the United States and Europe with a full
symphony orchestra backing him and his piano in each city. As part of his tour, he played at the
Nobel Peace Prize Concert in
Oslo,
Norway, with his final concert of that tour in
Paris being recorded for a
St. Valentine's Day special on
PBS in 1998. He also continued his film career, starring in
Excess Baggage opposite
Alicia Silverstone and
Benicio del Toro in 1997.
In May 1998, he had his first leading role in director
Forest Whitaker's
Hope Floats, with
Sandra Bullock as his female lead. He released
Come By Me, his first album of
big band music in eight years in 1999, and embarked on a world tour visiting the United States, Europe,
Japan and
Australia. In addition, he provided the voice of Dean McCoppin in the animated film
The Iron Giant.
Connick wrote the score for
Susan Stroman's
Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not, based on
Émile Zola's novel
Thérèse Raquin, in 2000; it premiered in 2001. His music and lyrics garnerned a
Tony Award nomination. He was also the narrator of the film
My Dog Skip, released in that year.
In March 2001, Connick starred in a television production of
South Pacific with
Glenn Close, televised on the
ABC network. He also starred in his twelfth movie,
Mickey, featuring a screenplay by
John Grisham that same year. In October 2001, he again released two albums:
Songs I Heard, featuring big band reworkings of children's show themes, and
30, featuring Connick on piano with guest appearances by several other musical artists.
Songs I Heard won Connick another
Grammy for best traditional pop album and he toured performing songs from the album, holding matinees at which each parent had to be accompanied by a child.
In 2002, he received US Patent #6,348,648 for a "system and method for coordinating music display among players in an orchestra." Connick appeared as
Grace Adler's boyfriend (and later husband)
Leo Markus on the
NBC sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2006. In July 2003, Connick released his first instrumental album in fifteen years,
Other Hours Connick on Piano Volume 1. It was released on
Branford Marsalis's new label
Marsalis Music and led to a short tour of nightclubs and small theaters.
Connick appeared in the film
Basic with
John Travolta and
Samuel L. Jackson. In October 2003, he released his second Christmas album,
Harry for the Holidays, which went gold and reached No. 12 on the
Billboard 200 album chart. He also had a television special on
NBC featuring
Whoopi Goldberg,
Nathan Lane,
Marc Anthony and
Kim Burrell.
Only You, his seventeenth album for Columbia Records, was released in February 2004. A collection of 1950s and 1960s ballads,
Only You, went Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic and was certified gold in the United States in March 2004. The
Only You tour with big band went on in America, Australia and a short trip to Asia.
Harry for the Holidays was certified platinum in November 2004. A music DVD
Harry Connick Jr. — "Only You" in Concert was released in March 2004, after it had first aired as a
Great Performances special on
PBS. The special won him an
Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction. The DVD received a Gold & Platinum Music Video — Long Form awards from the RIAA in November 2005.
An animated holiday special,
The Happy Elf, aired on
NBC in December 2005, with Connick as the composer, the narrator, and one of the executive producers. Shortly after, it was released on DVD. The holiday special was based on his original song
The Happy Elf, from his 2003 album
Harry for the Holidays. Another album from
Marsalis Music was recorded in 2005,
Occasion : Connick on Piano, Volume 2, a duo album with Harry Connick, Jr. on piano together with
Branford Marsalis on saxophone. A music DVD,
A Duo Occasion, was filmed at the
Ottawa International Jazz Festival 2005 in Canada, and released in November 2005.
He appeared in another episode of NBC sitcom
Will & Grace in November 2005, and appeared in additional three episodes in 2006.
Bug, a film directed by
William Friedkin, is a psychological thriller filmed in 2005, starring Connick,
Ashley Judd, and Michael Shannon. The film will be released in 2007. He starred in the Broadway revival of
The Pajama Game, produced by the
Roundabout Theater Company, along with
Michael McKean and
Kelli O'Hara, at the
American Airlines Theatre in 2006. It ran from
February 23 to
June 17,
2006, including five
benefit performances running from
June 13 to
June 17.
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