Originally commissioned for the Savannah Music Festival in Mercer's hometown of Savannah, Georgia, (where it sold-out seven shows in five days) Andrea’s research into the Georgia State University Special Collections Mercer Archives has unearthed several gems from his vast repertoire of nearly fifteen-hundred songs.
Andrea’s research brought her to conversations with some of Mercer’s intimate friends including Alan Bergman, the Oscar winning lyricist and Mercer protégé, as well as Ginny Mancini, the widow of Mercer’s “Moon River” collaborator, Henry Mancini.
A singer in his own right, Mercer had a unique understanding of the art form and provided many chart toppers for Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.
Accompanied by award-winning pianist, Gerald Sternbach, Andrea paints an intimate portrait of this trailblazer of popular music and her trademark interpretations of Mercer’s pensive, often impish, lyrics are on full display.
Andrea said of Johnny Mercer's music "His optimism is his unique contribution to the popular songbook - the language, the cleverness, and the humor. His songs speak of bucolic things. He was capable of the intricate rhyme schemes of Cole Porter, but also the simple truth of Sammy Cahn.”
