Grammy-winning musician Harry Connick Jr. has released a new album and forthcoming book, both titled "Babe: Elaboratio: A Tribute to My Mother," honouring his late mother Anita-Francis, who died when he was thirteen. This spring, on what would have been her 100th birthday, Connick fulfilled her lifelong dream by performing a three-part orchestral work at Carnegie Hall in New York, tracing her life from the city through Morocco to New Orleans. The album, released on 25 September, features the complete orchestral composition, and an accompanying book with personal photography will be published on 29 September.

The orchestral work was composed, arranged and produced entirely by Connick and recorded in Melbourne with over 70 musicians from Orchestra Victoria and his own Big Band. In an exclusive excerpt from the book, Connick reflects on losing his mother at thirteen and how the composition allowed him to express profound emotions beyond words. He describes how he has "internalised" his mother, using the music to share aspects of himself he has never been able to articulate before, creating a lasting tribute to the profound influence she had on his life and artistry.