In Brief

** Harry Connick Jr., “She,” Columbia. You’ve got to admire Connick for venturing beyond his usual romantic, pre-1955, big-band material to co-write and sing a robust, New Orleans-style mix of jazz, funk and rock. But his smooth, Sinatra-like voice clashes with this funky sound, and the songs have a rough, grating, experimental feel, as if they need much more polishing. Not for real Connick fans.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).