Sat 1/28 @ 7:30PM
Songwriter Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) was primarily a lyricist, known for writing songs such as “Moon River,” “Days of Wine and Roses,” “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe,” and “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” all of which won Oscars for Best Original Song in a Film, in collaborations with musical greats Harry Warren, Hoagy Carmichael and Henry Mancini. (He was nominated 18 times!) Tunes such as “Autumn Leaves,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “You Must’ve Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Fools Rush In,” “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” “Skylark” and even “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” were his too.
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and The Musical Theater Project are hooking up for their seventh annual collaboration to spotlight Mercer’s lyrics and they have a nearly bottomless pool of repertoire to choose from: he wrote more than 1,500 songs. The concert, taking place at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, will feature members of CJO, th Joe Hunter Trio, vocalists Evelyn Wright and Michael Shirtz and cameo by 88-year-old Cleveland jazz singer Vince Mastro.
Get tickets here.