She

HARRY CONNICK JR: “She” (Sony)

Thankfully, Harry Connick has finally swapped his Sinatra/Darin tuxedo for the kind of New Orleans brothel creepers he was born to wear. As a pianist, he’s also moved from his Thelonius Monk fixation to barrelhouse funk, with the result that the sound now is as true as the shriek of a white man as he tightens his arms around a “black-eyed baby from the old bayou”, to quote the king’s song, ‘New Orleans’.

And, yes, by going back to his original roots in that city of sin, Connick Jr. has finally established himself as a force to be reckoned with, rather than just another musical clone. Fans at his recent Dublin gig may have wanted more When Harry Met Sally supper-club music but maybe that’s because the leap was more than they could take. From originally covering Tin Pan Alley standards like ‘Love Is Here To Stay’ to now producing originals like ‘Joe Slam And The Space Ship’ and ‘Here Comes The Big Parade’ is one hell of a step.

Of course, Connick has produced his own original material before, but it rarely resonated with the kind of jazz-blues-rock-soul-funk in evidence here. Even laid back tunes such as ‘Between Us’ tremble with the sense of a singer, musician and band finally set free from the fetters of performing music that was too restrained and contrived for its own good. And when they roll into a seemingly stoned mode on the suitably titled ‘Follow The Music’ with its distorted rap-like vocal and dissonant synthesiser sounds, we know we’re on another planet. The planet New Orleans, no doubt, with all the strange substances that city has to offer . . .

Best of all is the boogie-like ‘To Love The Language’ which uses Southern phrases like ‘I is just what I was’ and ‘Ax’ ya “x” what talks in tongues.’ Yeah, you read that right but, as the man says, to love the language you gotta be born on the banks of the Mississippi.

A roots album to its soul. The next best thing to visitin’ Noo Owhrleens.

• Joe Jackson