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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Saturday, 15 May 2004 |
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Page 1 of 2 
Through his singing, songwriting and banjo and guitar playing, Connell melds jazz, blues, folk, rock, and gospel into what he terms “root music.” And his musical roots run deep: Connell grew up on his family’s vineyard in Connecticut, where his mother sang and played piano and guitar; his father introduced young Tuey such diverse music as the Kingston Trio, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Wes Montgomery, Flatt & Scruggs, B.B. King, the Allman Brothers, and even Mozart. Connell focused on the banjo, ultimately moving to Chicago and receiving an Artist Fellowship Grant from the Illinois Arts Council for contemporary banjo composition in 1991. Performing throughout the U.S. and Europe, Connell was frequently sought as a sideman and for radio and television commercial jingles. In 1997, he founded TuConn Music as a means of promoting his own music. After a second CD created interest in his jazz leanings, his work came to the attention of Germany’s Minor Music label, which has now produced several recordings including the recent release, Under the Influence.
Although Chicago is still home, Connell’s current tour features his New York band, David Hazeltine (piano), Neal Miner (acoustic bass), and Joe Strasser (drums). Of his October 2003 performance at Danny’s Skylight Room in New York, critic Laurie Lawson noted that Connell’s “soothing voice that wraps around music and only lets go when he's performing an instrumental on his guitar or banjo.” Says Show Business, "Connell's rich dark-hued baritone drips with sex appeal and he swings with an easy elegance that's equal parts Johnny Hartman and Kenny Rankin."
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