Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic on July 21, 1930 in
New York City) is an internationally known jazz vocalist.
Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she
is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy (where she lived for many
years) as well as in her native United States. She has recorded and performed
with some of the most notable figures in the American jazz scene.
Merrill was born in 1930 to Croatian immigrant parents. She
began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx at the age of fourteen. By the time
she was sixteen, Merrill had taken up music full time. In 1952, Merrill made
her recording debut when she was asked to sing "A Cigarette For
Company" with the Earl Hines Band; the song was released on their Xanadu
album. Etta Jones made her debut on the same album.
As a result of the exposure she received from "A
Cigarette for Company" and two subsequent singles recorded for the Roost
record label, Merrill was signed by Mercury Records for their new Emarcy label.
In 1954, Merrill recorded her first (and to date most
acclaimed) LP, an eponymous record featuring legendary jazz trumpet player
Clifford Brown and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford, among others. It was to be
one of Brown's last recordings, as he was killed in a car accident just two
years later. The album was produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, who was then
just twenty-one years old. The success of Helen Merrill prompted Mercury to
sign her for an additional four-album contract.
Merrill's follow-up to Helen Merrill was the 1956 LP, Dream
of You, which was produced and arranged by bebop arranger and pianist Gil
Evans. Evans' work on Dream of You was his first in many years. His
arrangements on Merrill's laid the musical foundations for his work in
following years with Miles Davis.
After recording sporadically through the late 1950s and
1960s,
Merrill spent much of her time touring Europe, where she enjoyed more
commercial success than she had in the United States. She settled for a time in
Italy recording an album there, and doing live concerts with jazz notables Chet
Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz. Merrill returned to the U.S. in the
1960s, but moved to Japan in 1967 after touring there. Merrill developed a
following in Japan that remains strong to this day. In addition to recording
while in Japan, Merrill became involved in other aspects of the music industry,
producing albums for Trio Records and hosting a show on a Tokyo radio station.
Here's "What Is This Thing Called Love" from above 1965 album
Merrill returned to the US in 1972 and has continued
recording and regular touring since then. Her later career has seen her
experiment in different music genres.
She has recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album and a record's worth of
Rodgers and Hammerstein, among many others.
One of Merrill's millennium released recordings draws from
her Croatian heritage as well as her American upbringing. Jelena Ana Milcetic,
also known as Helen Merrill (2000), combines jazz, pop and blues songs with
several traditional Croatian songs sung in Croatian.
Helen Merrill has been married three times, first to
musician Aaron Sachs, second time to UPI vice president Donald J Brydon, and
third to arranger-conductor Torrie Zito. Merrill became involved in other
aspects of the music industry, producing albums for Trio Records and hosting a
show on a Tokyo radio station. She has one child, a son, Allan P Sachs, also a
singer, who is professionally known as Alan Merrill. (info Wikipedia)
Helen Merrill sings "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" live, backed by husband Torrie Zito on piano, Ned Mahn on bass, and Terry Clarke on drums.
Helen Merrill sings "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" live, backed by husband Torrie Zito on piano, Ned Mahn on bass, and Terry Clarke on drums.
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For Helen Merrill – The Feeling Is Mutual (1965)
go here:
http://www10.zippyshare.com/v/4669463/file.html
1. You’re My Thrill
2. It Don’t Mean a Thing
3. Here’s That Rainy Day
4. Baltimore Oriole
5. Don’t Explain
6. What Is This Thing Called Love?
7. The Winter of My Discontent
8. Day Dream
9. Deep in a Dream
For Helen Merrell Sings The Beatles (1970) go here:
https://www.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8b69688a5d6674b472af
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