Helen Merrill

Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation of bebop jazz musicians. After an active 1950s and 1960s, Merrill spent time recording and touring in Europe and Japan, falling into obscurity in the United States. In the 1980s and '90s, she was under contract with Verve and her performances in America revived her profile. Known for her emotional, sensual vocal performances, her career continues in its sixth decade with concerts and recordings.

Early life and career

Jelena Ana Milcetic was born in New York to Croatian immigrant parents. She began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx in 1944 when she was 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 Earl Hines; the song was released on the D'Oro label, created specifically to record Hines' band with Merrill. Etta Jones was in Hines' band at the time and she too sang on this session, which was reissued on the Xanadu label in 1985. At this time Merrill was married to musician Aaron Sachs. They divorced in 1956.

Merrill was signed by Mercury Records to their EmArcy label. In 1954, Merrill recorded an eponymous LP; her first issued album featured trumpeter Clifford Brown and bassist Oscar Pettiford. The album was produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, who was twenty-one years old. The success of '' Helen Merrill'' prompted Mercury to sign her for an additional four-album contract.

Merrill's follow-up' was the 1956 LP, '' Dream of You'', which was arranged by arranger and pianist Gil Evans. His arrangements for Merrill laid the foundation for his work with Miles Davis.

Abroad

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 concerts with jazz musicians Piero Umiliani, Chet Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz. In 1960, arranger and film composer Ennio Morricone worked with Merrill on an EP, ''Helen Merrill Sings Italian Songs'', on the RCA Italiana label.

''Parole e Musica: Words and Music'' was recorded in Italy with Umiliani's orchestra in the early 1960s while Merrill was living there. The LP features the unusual additions preceding each song, of spoken translations of eloquent Italian word lyrics, complementing the ballads and torch songs.

She returned to the U.S. in the 1960s, but moved to Japan in 1966, staying after touring there and marrying Donald J. Brydon (Tokyo-based Asia Bureau Chief of United Press International) in April 1967. She developed a following in Japan that remains strong decades later. In addition to recording while in Japan, Merrill became involved in other aspects of the music industry, producing albums for Trio Records and co-hosting a show on FEN (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service) with Bud Widom in Tokyo.

Later career

Merrill returned to the U.S. in 1972. She recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album, and a Rodgers and Hammerstein album. In 1987, she and Gil Evans recorded fresh arrangements of ''Dream of You'' released under the title ''Collaboration'', becoming the best received of Merrill's 1980s albums.

In 1987, she co-produced ''Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter''. In 1995, she recorded '' Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown''. '' Jelena Ana Milcetic a.k.a. Helen Merrill'' (2000) draws from her Croatian heritage as well as her American upbringing. The album combines jazz, pop, and blues songs with traditional Croatian songs sung in Croatian. She released the album ''Lilac Wine'' in 2003.

Personal life

Merrill has been married three times, first to musician Aaron Sachs (1948–1956), second to UPI vice president Donald J. Brydon (1967–1992), and third to arranger-conductor Torrie Zito until his death in 2009.

She had one child from her first marriage, Allan Preston Sachs, later known professionally as Alan Merrill, who was a singer and songwriter who wrote and recorded the original (1975) version of the rock classic " I Love Rock N Roll" as lead vocalist of the British band Arrows.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* '' Helen Merrill'' (EmArcy, 1955) – recorded in 1954
* ''Helen Merrill with Strings