Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording ''

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 ...

'' (with

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", an ...

), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation of

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

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 Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to Croatian immigrant parents. She began singing in jazz clubs in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

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 Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

; the song was released on the D'Oro label, created specifically to record Hines' band with Merrill.

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...

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 Aaron Sachs (July 4, 1923 – June 5, 2014) was an American jazz saxophone and clarinet player. Career A native of New York City, Sachs began his music career as a young swing protégé of Benny Goodman, and later eased into bebop music, also ...

. They divorced in 1956. Merrill was signed by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

to their

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

label. In 1954, Merrill recorded an eponymous LP; her first issued album featured trumpeter

and bassist

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Biography Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United ...

. The album was produced and arranged by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, who was twenty-one years old. The success of ''

'' 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 Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...

. His arrangements for Merrill laid the foundation for his work with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

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 Piero Umiliani (17 July 1926 – 14 February 2001) was an Italian composer of film scores. Biography Umiliani was born in Florence, Tuscany. Like many of his Italian colleagues at that time, he composed the scores for many exploitation fil ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Romano Mussolini Romano Bruno Mussolini (26 September 1927 – 3 February 2006) was an Italian jazz pianist, painter, and film producer. He was the fourth child and youngest son of Benito Mussolini. Early life and education Romano Mussolini was native of Vi ...

, and

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

. In 1960, arranger and film composer

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

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 United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

) 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 Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

album, a Christmas album, and a

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popu ...

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

(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 Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the write ...

, who was a singer and songwriter who wrote and recorded the original (1975) version of the rock classic "

I Love Rock N Roll "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of ...

" as lead vocalist of the British band Arrows.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''

'' (

, 1955) – recorded in 1954 * ''

Helen Merrill with Strings ''Helen Merrill with Strings'' is the second album by Helen Merrill, featuring the singer fronting a quartet augmented by a string section arranged by Richard Hayman, recorded in 1955 and released on the EmArcy label.Dream of You'' (EmArcy, 1957) – recorded in 1956–57 * '' Merrill at Midnight'' (EmArcy, 1957) * ''

The Nearness of You "The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song debuted in the 1938 movie Romance in the Dark. It is also heard in the 1940 recording In the Mood by Glenn Miller and His Orche ...

'' (EmArcy, 1958) – recorded in 1957–58 * '' You've Got a Date with the Blues'' ( MetroJazz, 1959) – recorded in 1958 * ''American Country Songs'' (

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

, 1959) * ''Helen Merrill Sings Italian Songs'' (RCA Italiana, 1960) * ''

The Artistry of Helen Merrill ''The Artistry of Helen Merrill'' is an album released by American vocalist Helen Merrill in 1965 on the Mainstream Records, Mainstream label.Edwards, D., Callahan, Eyries, P., Watts, R. & Neely, TDiscography of the Mainstream Label (Preview) acc ...

'' (

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

, 1965) – recorded in 1964 * ''The Feeling Is Mutual'' with

Dick Katz Richard Aaron Katz (March 13, 1924 – November 10, 2009) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and record producer. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with O ...

(Milestone, 1967) * ''A Shade of Difference'' with Dick Katz (Milestone, 1968) * ''Helen Sings, Teddy Swings!'' with

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

(

Catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

, 1970) * ''Sposin'' with Gary Peacock Trio (Victor (Japan)/ Storyville, 1971) * ''John Lewis/Helen Merrill'' (Mercury, 1977) * ''Autumn Love'' (Catalyst, 1977) * ''Something Special'' (

Inner City The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

, 1978) * ''Chasin' the Bird'' (Inner City, 1980) * ''Casa Forte'' (Trio, 1980) * ''Rodgers & Hammerstein Album'' (DRG, 1982) * ''The Complete Helen Merrill on Mercury'' (Mercury, 1985) * ''No Tears, No Goodbyes'' with

Gordon Beck Gordon James Beck (16 September 1935 – 6 November 2011) was an English jazz pianist and composer. At the time of his death, 26 albums had been released under his name. Early life Beck was born in Brixton, London, and attended Pinner Coun ...

(Owl, 1985) * '' Music Makers'' (Owl, 1986) * ''Jerome Kern Album'' (Victor, 1986) – a.k.a. ''Sings

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

'' * ''

Collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

'' with

(EmArcy, 1988) – recorded in 1987 * ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...

'' with

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

(EmArcy, 1989) * ''Just Friends'' (EmArcy, 1989) * ''Christmas Song Book'' (JVC, 1991) * ''Clear Out of This World'' (

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

, 1992) – recorded in 1991 * '' Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown'' (

, 1994) * '' You and the Night and the Music'' (Verve, 1997) * '' Jelena Ana Milcetic a.k.a. Helen Merrill'' (Gitanes, 2000) – recorded in 1999 * ''Lilac Wine'' (Sunnyside, 2003) * ''Helen Merrill Sings the Beatles'' (Victor (Japan), 2003) – recorded in 1970

As guest

With

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

* '' Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter'' (Verve, 1986)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Helen 1930 births Living people American jazz singers American people of Croatian descent American women jazz singers Milestone Records artists Antilles Records artists EmArcy Records artists Verve Records artists Mercury Records artists Inner City Records artists Singers from New York City Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American women