As part of the Rialto Series, The Georgia State University Library will be hosting a Johnny Mercer Tribute Concert on Friday, February 7, 2020 at 8:00 pm at the Rialto Center for the Arts in downtown Atlanta. South African trumpet player Marco Maritz, who over the past few semesters has been working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Georgia State University Library Special Collections and Archives, has crafted new arrangements for some of Mercer’s unpublished songs. These song ideas exist in the archives as anything from arranger’s lead sheets to undated draft lyrics and musical notation on scraps of note paper and are now being heard by the public for the first time. The vivacious Maritz, who has been known to burst into GSU’s archives early the morning after a late night of playing with local jazz ensembles, shared some insight into working in the Mercer archives to create these new arrangements.

What did you know about Johnny Mercer going into this project?

Maritz: Initially, Kevin (Fleming, GSU’s Popular Music and Culture Archivist) introduced me to Johnny Mercer, I didn’t know who he was at the time. Later on I discovered he was quite a phenomenal vocalist and songwriter and really had an amazing career. This was pop music, it was like the Beyoncé of that day. It resonated with the people of that time period, that’s why [Mercer] did so much commissioned work and was writing so much, because it was in demand. I think he knew exactly what the people wanted to hear. I tried to find things that resonated with me in the songs I selected for this concert.

Song 1: Be Happy

Maritz: The melody reminded me of the song ‘Bare Necessities’ (laughs), and the lyrics sound very similar to something that Dr. Seuss might have written. For this song the lyrics weren’t complete. For the B section, I had to work out how to let it flow more smoothly and also the melodies… I had an idea of what to go off of but I altered it a little bit and added my own chords to this arrangement.

How do you write lyrics like Johnny Mercer?

Maritz: I altered lyrics to see what would work the best. On the original sheet there was an idea, a few options from which to choose… there were a couple of different alternative lyrics I could have used from the B sections but it didn’t fit very well. Kevin also helped to see what would work to smooth it out.
Fleming: We looked at other songs in The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer book that dealt with being happy. The main thing was to fit the music. It’s not necessarily writing new lyrics, it’s just kind of modifying a bit. I look at it as Mercer might have done the same thing once he got to the stage of applying the music to the lyrics, so I don’t see it being too far fetched from what Mercer might have done.
Maritz: Like the B section, there’s a part where it says, ‘Don’t be a grumble grouch/ because your shoulders will slouch/ and you’ll end up in a psychiatric couch.” In that sentence alone you can see there’s a lot of flow-iness. To put it into a musical context, the B section in jazz is usually between six and eight bars and what was there didn’t really fit, so we spent time to see how we could make it work and we changed little things. I think that’s probably why it wasn’t published. The A section was perfect, it’s really smooth, the B section was the hard part. What I decided to do on the arrangement specifically, I wanted the band to be a part of this journey… this song is a very positive song, it’s about being happy. We’re going to end the concert with this song to send that message out. I decided to use some techniques to let the band sing, like in the old days band members, usually horn players, sing naturally with the band, these call and response figures, but in big band you don’t see it too often. So there’s an interaction of the band itself and the audience. This is also a duet song. The two artists Joe [Gransden] and Tierney [Sutton] will play off each other by alternating the melody.

Song 2: You Knock Me Out

Maritz: With this one, I just liked the melody, it was very cheesy. Jazz songs always end up being love songs or sad songs, but I thought it would be nice to put in a cheesy one. For this one I altered the melody and wrote a big sax solo, which was my biggest joy. It kind of reminds me of Count Basie’s version of “All of Me”… where the sax’s are really playing laid back, so I thought let me put something like that into context with this piece. I like that big vibrato sound you can get out of the sax and I thought with this tempo… it’s one of the oldest tricks in the book that will work just fine.

Song 3: Fate Moves in Mysterious Ways

Maritz: This was already published but not arranged for big band. This is the only one I have a recording of him singing it. I decided it to turn into a ballad for Tierney Sutton. The lyrics on this one “Fate moves in mysterious ways/ its wonders to perform/ fate chooses its oddest of days/ to turn from cold to warm.” It has a nice flow, the ballad will fit into the concert quite nicely. The only thing I did that was different, I added a section where the sax’s give a statement and then the melody goes over to the trumpets and trombones. This is a more modern arrangement than the old school style.

How did working in the archives affect your arrangements?

Maritz: This project has taught me so much more than arranging things, it taught me to focus on the artist specifically and see his creativity level over his time period and to put it into my own writing style. I’ve learned so much… I think my perspective has changed a lot. I would have never imagined I’d be here two years ago. I’m very thankful to the Johnny Mercer Foundation for giving this platform to students to explore and having the freedom to do so.

The semester is almost over, which means papers are due and final exams are looming. It’s not unusual to feel stressed out this time of year. The good news is that the GSU Library is here to help you cope with that stress and make the best of your finals!  

Beginning Monday, December 9th to Friday, December 13th, 2019 from 10am to 5pm, the library will host fun and stress-reducing activities. We’re offering unique daily activities like make-your-own trail mix and yoga, plus relaxing week-long opportunities like coloring and a meditation zone.

All Week Long (Dec. 9 – Dec. 13)

Classic TV shows such as The Office will be streaming in Classroom 2 (Library North 2).

Center your thoughts with aromatherapy, white noise, and low lighting in the Meditation and Relaxation Zone in the Colloquium Room (South 8).

Coloring, origami and puzzles will also be available all week on Library North 1, South 2, and South 8.

Monday, December 9 – Everything is Awesome!

Make your own trail mix
When: 10am & 2pm
Where: North 1 & South 2

Play with LEGOS
When: All day
Where: North 1

Tuesday, December 10 – Pop-tarts & PJs

We’ll bring the snacks to you!

Wednesday, December 11 – Wednesday Zensday 

Relax with a yoga class
When: 11am, 11:45am, 2pm, 2:45pm
Where: South 8 – Colloquium Room

Thursday, December 12 – Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Work together to color giant poster
When: 10am-5pm
Where: North 1 & South 2

Help us solve the “World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle!”
When: All day
Where: South 2

Friday, December 13 – TGIF…AF

Continue to enjoy coloring, origami, and jigsaw puzzles
When: All day
Where: North 1, South 2, & South 8

The Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) announces a new digital exhibit created and curated by the ASERL Special Collections Interest Group. This collaborative online exhibit recognizes 400 years since the arrival of the first Africans sold into bondage in the English Colonies. This date, in 1619, is regarded as the beginning of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in North America.

The exhibit, “Enslaved People in the Southeast,” was curated by a team of nine archivists and contains more than 100 items related to American slavery and its after-effects. Items in the exhibit include auction records and other bills of sale, plantation records, materials from the abolitionist movement, and photographs and other items from the Jim Crow South.

“As a major research institution in the Southeast that holds extensive photographic collections, Georgia State University is committed to sharing those resources to shed light on the long ‘hidden’ history of slavery in all of its forms, noted Christina Zamon, Head of Special Collections & Archives at Georgia State University.  “Our most visible contribution is a series of photographs documenting convict leasing, a 20^th century iteration of slavery in the Southeast.  We hope that by sharing this information it will inform and inspire future generations to avoid the mistakes of the past and seek to advance equality and justice for all Americans.”

Founded in 1956, ASERL is one of the largest regional research library consortia in the United States, serving 38 institutional members in 11 states.  By working together, ASERL members provide and maintain top-quality resources and services for the students, faculty, and citizens of their respective communities.

All items in the ASERL online exhibit can be found at https://bit.ly/2JETOLF.  Additional items may be added to the exhibit in coming months.

On Friday, October 18, the University Library welcomed Ginneh Baugh, Vice President, Strategy & Knowledge Development, United Way of Greater Atlanta to Data in the ATL.

#DataInTheATL is a speaker series hosted by Georgia State University Library that connects the university community with prominent members of the Atlanta data community. Invited speakers show the importance of data science in making informed decisions and how they use data analysis and expertise in their daily work.

Baugh shared with attendees the steps taken by the United Way of Greater Atlanta to develop the Child Well-Being Index, a collection of data and interactive map that the community can use to assess how its children, the families that support them, and the community that surrounds them, are doing.

The index gave United Way a tool to measure child well-being.  Examining an assortment of data, including a family’s financial stability, housing cost burden, the percentage of mothers without a high school diploma, percentage of low-weight births, students exceeding third-grade reading standards and high school graduation rate.

“If we’re going to embark on data analysis, it has got to be useable by people,” Baugh said.

“I have to be able to introduce people to something new then I have to be able to help connect the dots as to how this information can be used.”

[Speaking directly to students in attendance] “If you can convert data into knowledge you’ve got the skill set that people need.”

For more on Baugh’s Data in the ATL talk, take a moment to watch the video above.

[Watch Video]

Click here to learn more about Data in the ATL and to see a list of upcoming speakers

“An oral history interview generally consists of a well-prepared interviewer questioning an interviewee and recording their exchange in audio or video format.”
-Donald Ritchie, Doing Oral History

Oral histories can include official interviews with important figures. They can include family histories, and they can document the ways that communities or neighborhoods have grown and evolved over time. Oral histories can also provide a history for under-documented communities, when no official records or narratives exist.

While published accounts and archival records can tell you “what happened,” oral histories can tell you how decisions were made in order to facilitate events and what it felt like to watch, participate in, or be affected by these events. They can provide an insider’s perspective, and they often provide multiple, sometimes competing narratives. Awash with memory, personal interpretations, humanity and emotion, they can make history come alive.

Archivists at Georgia State University have a long history of documenting communities through oral histories, and on Saturday, December 7, from 1:00-4:30 pm, they will share their knowledge and advice during a new Oral History Project Planning 101 workshop.

This workshop will take place at Georgia State University’s Clarkston campus and is free and open to the public. Registration is required, and space is limited. See below for the details or visit the library’s event page.

Oral History Project Planning 101

Do you have an idea for an oral history project but need help developing a plan? Attend this workshop presented by Georgia State University Library’s Special Collections & Archives to find out what steps you need to take to shape your idea into a viable project. We’ll share what’s worked for us (and what hasn’t), review key decisions you should make before starting, and help you create a project plan.

Attendees and archivists from a past oral history workshop

THIS WORKSHOP INCLUDES:

• Small group breakout sessions
• Personalized advice from Georgia State University archivists
• Hands-on interviewing practice
• Discussion of ethical & legal issues
• Preservation & storage tips
• Equipment recommendations & more!

Hands-on interviewing practice.

DATE:

Saturday, December 7th, 2019, 1:00 PM-4:30 PM

LOCATION:

Georgia State University Library
Clarkston Campus, Building CL
555 N. Indian Creek Dr.
Clarkston, GA 30021

Room: LRC 4180

REGISTRATION:

Register here: https://lib.gsu.edu/ohw

CONTACT US:

For more information contact us at 404-413-2880 or archives@gsu.edu

Want to find out about similar events? Visit the Special Collections & Archives website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Thank you and we hope to see you soon!

-The Special Collections & Archives team