MOUSEKETEER

The music of the past has always been a strong undercurrent in the career of Harry Connick Jr., from the romantic standards that marked his biggest commercial successes to the New Orleans jazz that shaped his youth. So it may be odd to note that Connick is pushing the envelope when it comes to computer use during stage performances.

When the pianist and his 15-member big band play Universal Amphitheatre on Wednesday, fans may notice the shimmering glow of computer screens around the stage.

That’s because Connick has scrapped sheet music in favor of flat-monitor Macintosh computers, an innovation that has his veteran players clicking mouses instead of flipping pages. Connick uses software when he composes, and he said going high-tech onstage was the next natural step. The band has extra computers waiting backstage in case one of the units crashes, and a generator is standing by for power outages.

“As far as I know, we’re the only ones doing it this way,” Connick said. “There’s always been a tremendous amount of sheet music onstage and it’s just easier and faster this way. . . . They’re easier to see and read from. We weren’t sure how it would go, but nothing has gone wrong yet.”