The Iconic Harry Connick, Jr.

From the time he showed up on the scene in his late teens, Harry Connick, Jr. seemed destined for an unusual career. His early Columbia recordings placed him alongside musicians like Ron Carter, Dr. John and Carmen McRae; the When Harry Met Sally... soundtrack made him a star at 22. In the decades since, he has moved freely between jazz, pop, Broadway, film and television, while continuing to work as a pianist, singer, composer and arranger.

But by the time Connick became a household name, he had already lived an extraordinary musical life. Growing up in New Orleans, he was mentored by Ellis Marsalis and James Booker, made his first recording at eleven, and learned early that serious musicianship and entertainment didn't have to be opposing ideas.

Now, at 59, Connick has created one of his most personal and ambitious works. Babe: Elaboratio—A Tribute to My Mother is both a sweeping orchestral composition and an accompanying book devoted to his mother, Anita Livingston, who died when he was 13. Drawing deliberately on memory, including its gaps and distortions, Connick reconstructs her life while revealing his own creative process in unusual detail.

Here Connick talks about memory and loss, his extraordinary musical childhood, the dream state of his early success, his creative process, and what it means to spend a lifetime living with a remarkable musical gift.