[Dixielandjazz] Emily

[Patrick Cooke]

Charlie wrote:

>> John Mercer, the perfect lyricist<<

For Mercer fans, see the movie Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil.  The
picture was made by Clint Eastwood, although he does not appear in it.  The
movie is situated in Savannah, GA, birthplace of Johnny Mercer, and his
music is played throughout the movie.  The opening shots are done in a
Savannah cemetery, and the camera pauses for a few moments on Mercers grave.
       Pat Cooke


----- Original Message -----
From: "Charlie Hooks" <charliehooks@earthlink.net>
To: "DJML Dixieland Jazz" <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Emily


> on 8/13/02 4:04 AM, Dick Sleeman at d.sleeman@hccnet.nl wrote:
>
> > Maybe most of you wouldn't reckon it ("Emily") among "jazz" or even
OKOM. But
> to me it is certainly MKON!
>
>     May I butt in to say that, IMHO, "Emily" is one of the most moving,
most
> playable, enhanceable, most endearing of tunes.  Any player of OKOM who
does
> not yet know this tune should learn it immediately.  Hard to think of a
> better jazz waltz.
>
>     Let's face it: Mandel and Mercer!  What a combination!  Mandel is
always
> so simple and so graceful, so "right"; and Mercer!  Oh, Mercer!  John
> Mercer, the perfect lyricist: taking Shakespeare's advice to the players,
> "speak the speech trippingly on the tongue..." and illustrating it in
every
> lyric he wrote: nothing ever that would tie the tongue, nothing ever that
> would give pause in any way to the easy enjoyment of syllables musically
> aligned with sense.
>
>     Check me out here: spot a Mercer lyric, any of them for all those
years,
> that presents the slightest difficulty.  He's close to perfect, this guy
is!
>
>     A Southern boy, living in New York only because that's where things
were
> happening, all his feelings--how he thinks, how he talks--are marks of a
> well-bred Southerner become Very Hip, a very talented musician.  Mercer's
> lyrics are not merely easy to pronounce; they will actually help you to
> swing the tune if you listen and feel them.
>
> Charlie
>
>
>
>
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