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HARRY Connick, Jr the jazz pin-up is a modern renaissance man. He sings, composes and acts. He is also a philanthropist and inventor.
The man, who will be in Singapore as the opening act for the Mosaic Music Festival tonight, has a resume that reads thus - 25 million albums sold, three Grammys, including twice for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, and an Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction for a televised 2004 concert.
And oh yes, he married a former Victoria's Secret supermodel, Jill Goodacre, with whom he has three daughters.
Speaking to Life! from the freezing set in Canada of his latest movie project, Chilled In Miami, a romantic comedy which co-stars Renee Zellweger, the New Orleans-born entertainer radiates laidback cool.
Ask him how he manages to make music, sell tonnes of records, play leading roles and still stay fresh and motivated, and he drawls in his Southern accent: 'You know what, I don't even have to try.
'Every day I wake up, and I'm excited about today, and I'm excited to think about music and writing and orchestrating and arranging and it just doesn't get old.
'Maybe it will 10 years from now but so far I haven't had to do anything specifically to keep it fresh.'
It would be easy to hate the guy if he does not sound so charming and sincere.
He is especially passionate when he talks about his hometown, New Orleans, the inspiration for his latest album and the theme of his current tour.
After the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, he was at the forefront of rebuilding efforts. Together with respected jazz musician Branford Marsalis and the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, he set up the Musicians' Village in the city's Upper Ninth Ward to re-house those who lost their homes in the floods.
'There'll be about 80 homes and a music centre and I think just about all the homes are completed,' he says.
'About 80 per cent of the people living in the village are musicians and families, which is really great news. Because the whole idea was to encourage musicians to come back and live in New Orleans after they had been displaced due to the hurricane.'
Connick's latest album, Oh, My NOLA, released last year, is an open love letter to his city of birth and celebrates the rich musical culture there.
'Everything I do really has a lot to do with New Orleans but I've never done a specific tribute CD to that city.
'I really wanted to document a lot of the different musical influences I've had over the years - country, gospel, R&B, jazz, all of the styles I've heard in New Orleans - I wanted to kind of mix them all up and that's what I did.'
Jazz is probably the genre he is most associated with and he acknowledges that.
'Jazz music is what I started with and that music is the most important to my heart,' he declares.
His late mother, a judge, and his father, a retired district attorney, encouraged him in his musical pursuits.
'They always provided me with great opportunities to hear music and be around musicians, so it was a pretty happy and fulfilling childhood,' he remembers. He has a sister who works in US Army intelligence.
A musical prodigy, he picked up the keyboards at three, performed his first gig at five and had his first recording at 10.
It helped of course that he was taken under the wing of New Orleans luminaries such as pianists James Booker and Ellis Marsalis, father to Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz trumpeter Wynton.
At 19, the musician's eponymous major label album debut Harry Connick, Jr went gold and sold over 500,000 copies, but his sophomore effort, titled 20, did even better, hitting the million mark. It was his 1989 soundtrack for romantic comedy box-office smash When Harry Met Sally... that brought him mainstream acclaim.
That album went double platinum and garnered him his first Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance.
Connick's musical discography now spans an impressive 24 full-length albums, not to mention numerous soundtrack and compilation contributions, TV specials, videos and DVDs.
Parent and patent holder
Part of his appeal is definitely his leading man looks, and it is a fact that Connick is not shy to admit.
'Well I know that image is a part of anyone's package with regards to marketing. That's just a necessary part of it, and it's always interesting to me to factor that in because, really, it's about the music.
'But I understand why it's important to have photo sessions and take pictures for a magazine and be seen - that's part of an entertainer's job.'
It's that marketable image that has helped him cross over into Hollywood too.
In 1990, he had his first acting break in World War II pilot flick Memphis Belle. Over the years, he has taken on roles in more than 15 movies, including playing another fighter pilot in Independence Day (1996), a psychotic killer in Copycat (1995) and Hilary Swank's potential love interest in P.S. I Love You, which is showing in cinemas now.
TV viewers will know him from several episodes of the hit sitcom Will & Grace, where he played main character Grace Adler's boyfriend and later, husband.
As if having all these accomplishments is not enough, the man also holds a patent for inventing a music software.
'We have a system that we use on stage called the Connick Music Viewer,' he says of his creation. More than just a simple electronic music sheet reader, the system helps him expedite the process of composing and arranging his music pieces. 'It allows my creative output to increase,' he adds.
It might sound like he juggles way too many things for work. But he says he makes sure that he spends time with his three school-going daughters aged 11, 10 and five.
He is at home months at a time before and after he goes off on a tour. He also flies home on weekends to spend time with them if he is on location for film shoots.
They sometimes join him on tour too. In fact, his two older daughters will be coming with him to Singapore.
'You know, I just love being a dad and a husband. Those are probably the times I cherish the most,' he says.
As age creeps up on him, will he ever consider going under the surgeon's knife or even inject Botox?
'I don't have a problem with wrinkles so I don't see a problem with ageing,' he says.
'A lot of people have a problem with that but you can't stop that and I think that rather than run from it, it's a lot easier to embrace it and that's what I do. I'm 40 years old, I'm not 20 anymore and I am what I am.'
dinohadi@sph.com.sg
Harry Connick, Jr - My New Orleans Tour will be at the Esplanade Theatre tonight at 8pm. Only $248 tickets are left and are available through Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg or call 6348-5555). Life! is the official newspaper of the Mosaic Music Festival.
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