Jimmy Sommers

Time Stands Still is a luscious reflection on 14 of the most mesmerizing melodies of all time. Sommers was inspired to embark upon this sentimental journey after completing his 2004 Christmas album, A Holiday Wish. "What made doing that album so special," Sommers shares, "was doing songs people already knew and loved." This dreamy disc stretches from standards such as "Georgia On My Mind" (in memory of "The Genius" Ray Charles), "Besame Mucho" and a bossa nova take on "Fly Me to the Moon" to more modern gems such as "You Are So Beautiful" (dedicated to its late composer Billy Preston), Norah Jones' Grammy-winning "Don't Know Why" (buoyed by piano and harmonica) and Carlos Santana's burning bolero "Europa," which Sommers masterfully reworked into a modern alternative from the classic `70s recording by Gato Barbieri. All of the music was arranged by Hollywood jazz and session veteran Bill Cunliffe and highlighted by three guest vocalists: soul-pop crooner Eric Bene't (singing the Judy Garland signature "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), traditional pop veteran Gloria Loring (mother of recent chart-topper Robin Thicke who graces the sexy Peggy Lee fire-starter "Fever") and newcomer Dena Deadly (a singer Sommers discovered on all-powerful MySpace who sings the Etta James chestnut "At Last").

Courtesy Jimmy Sommers