NY's favorite Jazz/Swing Dance Band Swingadelic presents 12 evergreens by Great American Songbook songwriter J. Mercer.

This labor of love for Johnny Mercer began on the day I was born. Johnny and I share the birthday of Nov. 18 and as a youngster I revered him as my most accomplished birthday brother. On the occasion of his 100th Birthday, in 2009, I was asked to be music director and arranger for a Mercer show. Digging into the music, I was transfixed. I picked up every bio of Johnny I could, learned as many songs as I could, and when James moved on, I brought the show idea to bandleader Dave Post of Swingadelic, and we ran with it. We enlisted Vanessa Perea, the sublime vocalist featured on this recording and we started doing shows all over the New York area at concert venues, libraries, theaters, senior centers, wherever they would have us. We told the story of Johnny's life and the stories of his songs, which struck a chord with our audiences. This CD is an attempt to recreate some of that magic we feel when we go onstage and perform this great music.

Too Marvelous for Words: Johnny could have written this about his gifts as a lyricist, and it is a signature tune in his repertoire. The lyrics that Vanessa sings at the top of her verse are Johnny's and were included in the 1937 movie from which this tune came 'Ready, Willing, and Able.' Music by Richard Whiting, father of the great Margaret Whiting.

Acc Cent Chu Ate the Positive: one of the wonderful collaborations between Johnny and Harold Arlen. Johnny got the idea for this lyric from a sermon he heard a preacher named Daddy Grace give back in his hometown of Savannah. Johnny was not without his personal problems, but he was a beautiful cat and generous to a fault. This is a favorite among the dancers and sing-a-longers in the audience.

Blues in the Night: Harold Arlen wrote this music for a 1941 movie originally called Hot Nocturne, but released as 'Blues in the Night' to match the song name, not the first or last time this happened with Johnny. George Naha adds some bluesy magic with his guitar.

John Bauers

Track Listing

• Too Marvelous For Words
• Ac Cent Chu Ate The Positive
• Blues In The Night
• That Old Black Magic
• I Wanna Be Around
• Goody Goody
• Jeepers Creepers
• The Glow Worm
• Moon River/The Days Of Wine And Roses
• G.I. Jive
• P.S. I Love You
• One For My Baby

Additional Details

Label: Zoho

Genre: Jazz

Language: English

Run Time: 40 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 05/05/17

UPC: 880956170329