Harry Connick, Jr. tour celebrates holidays with winter 2008 performances

Jazz crooner and pianist Harry Connick, Jr. will celebrate the holidays on the road this winter with a string of U.S. performances. The Holiday Celebration Tour launches November 18 at Palace Theatre in Louisville, KY, and has dates currently set through December 17 at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC.

Currently, the 15-city tour is set to wind through the East Coast and adjacent Midwestern states, including a November 28-29 run at the City Center Theatre in New York, NY, and December 10-11 performances at the historic Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL. According to Connick’s official Web site, more dates will be announced in the near future.

The tour will support Connick’s third Christmas album, the forthcoming “What a Night! A Christmas Album.” Slated for release on November 4, the record blends holiday standards with original tracks penned by the award-winning musician.

The holiday album opens with “Song for the Hopeful,” written by Connick for his upcoming Lifetime original movie “Living Proof.” Over the years, he has provided the soundtrack to many big screen films, as well. The big band composer won his first Grammy award in 1989 for his soundtrack to Rob Reiner’s romance-comedy classic “When Harry Met Sally.”

Connick’s last studio album was 2007’s “Oh, My NOLA,” the title of which references his native New Orleans, LA. A vocal supporter of the city’s relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Connick donated a portion of the album’s proceeds to the Musicians Village neighborhood that he helped rebuild with Habitat for Humanity.

Harry Connick, Jr. itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)