Music Cleveland! - JOHNNY MERCER & the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra

Schedule

Sat Jan 28 2023 at 07:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Location

Maltz Performing Arts Center | Cleveland, OH

Music Cleveland! presents the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra with the Musical Theater Project – “Moon River,” the Music of Johnny Mercer.
The CJO joins with The Musical Theater Project to celebrate Johnny Mercer, the finest lyricist of the mid-20th century. Mercer collaborated with Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, and so many more. Tonight our featured vocalists are: Michael Shirtz, Evelyn Wright, and Vince Mastro.
Tonight’s concert is part of the CJO’s new season featuring - ” HOMETOWN HEROES & MORE! - featuring performing artists that were born and spent their early years in Northeast Ohio.
WHO: The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Paul Ferguson featuring vocalists Michael Shirtz, Evelyn Wright, and Vince Mastro.

WHAT: Our Huckleberry Friend: The Lyrics of Johnny Mercer

WHEN: Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m.
PRE-CONCERT DINNER: Members Only! at La Dolce Vita, 12112 Mayfield Road, corner of Murray Hill in Little Italy, - ARRIVE from 5 to 5:30 p.m. - pre-concert Dinner for Music Cleveland! members only (join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/music.cleveland)
RSVP REQUIRED
RSVP DEADLINE: Friday, January 27th at 9 p.m.
RSVP REQUIRED to [email protected] with HUCKLEBERRY in subject line. Include full name + guest, email, and cell phone. We will make a reservation on your behalf - cancellations no later than 12 noon day of event (Saturday, January 28th).
LIVE STREAM: NOT AVAILABLE, This will not be available on demand at a later date.
WHERE: Maltz Center - 1855 Ansel Road (44106) in University Circle. Map w/parking: https://goo.gl/maps/GYjvi3KVUfLmvzbm7
TICKETS: Premium @ $45; Preferred @ $35; Standard @ $25. On-Line at: https://case.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1878 Or by phone at: 216.368.6062.
Maltz Performing Arts Center Box Office (216.368.6062) is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or one hour before event. Email: [email protected]
PARKING: $7 cash at gate Guests can approach the parking lot (Lot 82) from E.105th/Ansel Dr. or Chester/E.101st. Parking passes can be purchased prior to an event or you may pay at the gate. Cash is recommended.
Overflow parking is available in Lot 81. You will be directed to that lot, if needed. Golf carts will meet guests in Lot 81 to bring them to the Maltz Center.
ADA guest drop-off is available via the Ansel Road and E. 105th street intersection only. Please drop-off your guest at the marked ADA door and continue north to park in Lot 82 or 81. Both parking lots can be accessed from E. 101st Street.
ADVANCE PARKING VOUCHER - $7: https://case.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?SeriesID=1
COVID-19 Protocols: Individuals attending Case Western Reserve events are expected to be fully vaccinated, including booster if eligible. Masks are not required at this time, but we respect the choices of those who elect to wear them. University leaders continue to monitor pandemic developments and will adjust health protocols as circumstances warrant. Masks are available to all of our patrons.
By purchasing tickets to an event at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, you are agreeing to all Case Western Reserve University policies regarding COVID-19.
https://case.edu/covid19/health-safety/visitor-policy
JOHNNY MERCER:
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer.
He was also record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallichs.
Mercer is best known as a Tin Pan Alley lyricist, but he also composed music, and was a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as songs written by others from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. Mercer's songs were among the most successful hits of the time, including "Moon River", "Days of Wine and Roses", "Autumn Leaves", and "Hooray for Hollywood". He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Oscar nominations, and won four Best Original Song Oscars.
Mercer's first big Hollywood song, the satirical "I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande", was inspired by a road trip through Texas (he wrote both the music and the lyrics). It was performed by Crosby in the film Rhythm on the Range in 1936, and from then on the demand for Mercer as a lyricist took off.
His second hit that year was "Goody Goody", music by Matty Malneck. In 1937, Mercer began working for Warner Bros., working with the composer Richard Whiting, soon producing his standard, "Too Marvelous for Words", followed by "Hooray for Hollywood", the opening number in the film Hollywood Hotel (1937).
After Whiting's sudden death from a heart attack, Mercer collaborated with Harry Warren and wrote "Jeepers Creepers", which earned Mercer his first Oscar nomination for Best Song (1938). Another hit with Warren in 1938 was "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby". The pair also created "Hooray for Spinach", a comic song produced for the film Naughty but Nice in 1939.
What an amazing man. I would urge you to review his Wikipedia file: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mercer. But here is something that may be of interest:
In 1941, Mercer began an affair with 19-year-old Judy Garland, while she was engaged to composer David Rose. Garland ended her involvement when she married Rose. In later years, Garland and Mercer rekindled their affair. Mercer stated that his song "I Remember You" was the most direct expression of his feelings for Garland.
Here Mercer is with my all-time favorite jazzman, Steve Allen:

Here’s a full show with our buddy John Pizzarelli -

What more can be said……
THE CLEVELAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Under the direction of Paul Ferguson, the 2022-23 Season presents the theme of HOMETOWN HEROES and features performing artists that were born and spent their early years in Northeast Ohio.
Coming Attractions
* Our Huckleberry Friend: The Lyrics of Johnny Mercer w/ The Musical Theater Project, Saturday, January 28th from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The CJO joins with The Musical Theater Project to celebrate Johnny Mercer, the finest lyricist of the mid-20th century. Mercer collaborated with Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, and so many more. Featuring vocalists Michael Shirtz, Evelyn Wright, and Vince Mastro.
* Blues, Gospel, and the Abstract Truth, Friday, March 3rd from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Vocalist Adrianna Miller and conductor Jonathon Turner present a high energy gospel program that combines jazz, funk, blues, gospel, and hip-hop. Extra seasoning will come from the music of late great Oliver Nelson, whose work is drenched with gospel music influence.
* Joe Lovano-Coltrane, Sinatra, and the Surprise of Being, Friday, May 5th from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Joe Lovano is one of the seminal voices of the tenor saxophone of the last 40 years. Here’s an extraordinary program that covers Coltrane, Sinatra, and excerpts from “The Surprise of Being”, which featured Joe in a historic collaboration with the CJO at Birdland in New York way back in 2006. The evening will be made perfect by vocalist Judi Silvano, the beautiful Mrs. Lovano.
THE CLEVELAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA - CJO returns for its 38th season, “Hometown Heroes & More.” The orchestra will be highlighting Ohio-born musicians, as well as sharing a range of music across the jazz spectrum, including Benny Goodman, the American Songbook, gospel, blues, progressive, and more. Let’s welcome home some amazing musicians and celebrate jazz in Cleveland! Click Here to Subscribe to the new season. https://case.universitytickets.com/w/packages/PackageDetail.aspx?PackageNewID=142
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra has been Northeast Ohio’s premier jazz voice since 1985. Led by award-winning composer and trombonist Paul Ferguson, the CJO promotes jazz in its historical and contemporary forms, through concerts featuring a stellar line-up of jazz luminaries, arrangers, composers, and educators.
At a CJO concert, you will enjoy "the best jazz you've ever heard and the best jazz you've never heard." Through inventive, original music and effective, innovative Educational Outreach, the CJO shepherds young and up-and-coming musicians and provides the region with unique and important cultural experiences.
CJO WEB SITE: https://www.clevelandjazz.org/
MUSIC CLEVELAND! https://www.facebook.com/groups/music.cleveland
This Facebook group is essentially a promotional page for our artist friends and music lovers around the globe. The pandemic forced us to close our meetup.com home group since live events and gatherings were suspended in 2020. For the duration, we were all about live streaming and personal posts and music from our artist friends!
Now, thanks to the vaccine, the country is opening up. We are especially excited to present live music in outdoor and curated indoor venues. We will always pay close attention to the current health advisories and vaccine protocols.
We also use this group for sharing videos and announcements for upcoming concerts that we will schedule and attend as a group. Now that a vaccine is readily available for the virus, we are pleased to resume our group activities.
Posts and videos from our friends around the world in the music industry are welcome.
MUSIC CLEVELAND!
Music Cleveland! – We are Live Music, Irish Music, Rock and Roll, Classical Music, Jazz, Blues, Live Jazz, Music, Smooth Jazz, Country Western Music, Opera, Bluegrass, Folk Music, Theater & Performance Art, Dance, Dining Out, Social Networking, and Night Life

Where is it happening?

Maltz Performing Arts Center, 1855 Ansel Road,Cleveland,OH,United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Host or Publisher Bill Johnson

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