Following his foray into the uber-contemporary pop production of 2015's That Would Be Me,
Harry Connick, Jr. returns to his swinging big-band sound with 2019's
True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter. The singer's first album since signing with the storied
Verve label,
True Love is also his first extended exploration of a single composer's work. A burnished set of
Porter standards, the album brings to mind
Connick's late-'80s and early-'90s work, especially
We Are in Love,
Blue Light, Red Light, and his beloved soundtrack to
When Harry Met Sally. Helping to capture this energy is
Connick's big band, featuring seasoned players like bassist
Neal Caine, New Orleans trumpeter
Mark Braud, saxophonist
Bob Sheppard, and others. On some tracks, he even brings in a full orchestra, creating a sound that evokes classic albums by his heroes
Nat King Cole and
Frank Sinatra. The best moments on the album are the punchy, midtempo swingers like "Anything Goes," "Just One of Those Things," and the buoyant "I Love Paris," all of which showcase
Connick's vocal charisma and his band's dynamic instrumental skills. The latter song also includes a bluesy solo by New Orleans trombonist
Lucien Barbarin, who also guests on a roiling and sultry rendition of "Why Can't You Behave." It's also nice to hear
Connick take his turn at the piano, soloing several times on the album and offering an extended Cuba-meets-New Orleans bar-style intro to "Begin the Beguine." This is a lush, languorously paced album, but it never drags; even the slower songs benefit from bluesy instrumental solos and
Connick's richly attenuated arrangements. True to
Porter's urbane image,
Connick offers an album as romantic as it is sophisticated. ~ Matt Collar