Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Though she had been active since the 1940s -- while still a teenager -- vocalist Helen Merrill finally came to prominence in the 1950s through her recordings for EmArcy. By the end of the decade, she was rightfully known as one of the great American jazz singers. She toured Europe and headlined the Comblain la Tour Jazz Festival in 1960, and lived and worked in Italy for a few years. Composer/arranger Piero Umiliani convinced her to record a television program called Moderato Swing. When she agreed, he assembled a top-flight cast of Italian jazzmen -- some of whom were also composers -- to back her. This set compiles the music from that program. Merrill is backed by either a sextet or quartet. The interplay between her and Umiliani and his bands is instinctive. A fingerpopping reading of "Night and Day" features slippery electric guitar from the great Enzo Grillini, and "Everything Happens to Me" is one of the finest readings she ever recorded -- in no small part due to Umiliani's ethereal arrangement that includes his celeste playing. Her performance of "You Don't Know What Love Is" is startling. Umiliani's arrangement encourages the singer to leave all sentiment out of her delivery. She does so and replaces it with a brooding noir-ish sense of longing so intense that it implies menace. Nino Culasso's lyric muted trumpet solo underscores that tension. Umiliani's reputation for finding the poetic in a melody is on full display in "April in Paris," framed by his celeste and Tonino Ferrelli's expressive bassline supporting the sublimated desire in Merrill's vocal. The darkness in her voice had largely gone unnoticed by American producers to that point, but is highlighted here. The last three performances here, "Solitude," "Willow Weep for Me," and "When Your Lover Has Gone," come from out of the blues to wrap themselves around the words and dig deeply into the grain of the emotions they express. This set is appended by Fernando Cajati reading the lyrics in Italian between each song. Anglo listeners might initially find this a distraction, but upon repeated listening will find it adds holistically to the feel of the set. On Parole e Musica, the collaboration between Merrill and Umiliani is nothing short of sublime, and it also gives rise to a question: What might they have achieved had they worked together longer?
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Cole Porter, Composer, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Matt L. Dennis, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Thomas Adair, Composer - Matt L. Dennis, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer - not listed, Producer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Vernon Duke, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Vernon Duke, Composer, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Joe McCoy, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Joe McCoy, Composer, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Don Raye, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Gene DePaul, Composer - not listed, Producer - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer - Don Raye, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Eric Maschwitz, Lyricist - Jack Strachey, Lyricist - Harry Link, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - not listed, Producer - Jack Strachey, Composer, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer - Eric Maschwitz, Composer, Lyricist - Harry Link, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Vernon Duke, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - not listed, Producer - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer - Vernon Duke, Lyricist - E.Y. Harbourg, Composer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Cole Porter, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Cole Porter, Composer, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Irving Mills, Lyricist - Eddie DeLange, Lyricist - Duke Ellington, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Eddie DeLange, Composer, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Irving Mills, Composer, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer - Duke Ellington, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - Ann Ronell, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - Ann Ronell, Composer, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Fernando Caiati, Main Artist, Speaker, Speaker - E.A. Swan, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Helen Merrill, Main Artist - E.A. Swan, Composer, Lyricist - not listed, Producer - Piero Umiliani & His Group, Associated Performer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Album review
Though she had been active since the 1940s -- while still a teenager -- vocalist Helen Merrill finally came to prominence in the 1950s through her recordings for EmArcy. By the end of the decade, she was rightfully known as one of the great American jazz singers. She toured Europe and headlined the Comblain la Tour Jazz Festival in 1960, and lived and worked in Italy for a few years. Composer/arranger Piero Umiliani convinced her to record a television program called Moderato Swing. When she agreed, he assembled a top-flight cast of Italian jazzmen -- some of whom were also composers -- to back her. This set compiles the music from that program. Merrill is backed by either a sextet or quartet. The interplay between her and Umiliani and his bands is instinctive. A fingerpopping reading of "Night and Day" features slippery electric guitar from the great Enzo Grillini, and "Everything Happens to Me" is one of the finest readings she ever recorded -- in no small part due to Umiliani's ethereal arrangement that includes his celeste playing. Her performance of "You Don't Know What Love Is" is startling. Umiliani's arrangement encourages the singer to leave all sentiment out of her delivery. She does so and replaces it with a brooding noir-ish sense of longing so intense that it implies menace. Nino Culasso's lyric muted trumpet solo underscores that tension. Umiliani's reputation for finding the poetic in a melody is on full display in "April in Paris," framed by his celeste and Tonino Ferrelli's expressive bassline supporting the sublimated desire in Merrill's vocal. The darkness in her voice had largely gone unnoticed by American producers to that point, but is highlighted here. The last three performances here, "Solitude," "Willow Weep for Me," and "When Your Lover Has Gone," come from out of the blues to wrap themselves around the words and dig deeply into the grain of the emotions they express. This set is appended by Fernando Cajati reading the lyrics in Italian between each song. Anglo listeners might initially find this a distraction, but upon repeated listening will find it adds holistically to the feel of the set. On Parole e Musica, the collaboration between Merrill and Umiliani is nothing short of sublime, and it also gives rise to a question: What might they have achieved had they worked together longer?
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:26
- Main artists: Helen Merrill
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RCA Victor
- Genre: Jazz
(P) 1961 Ricordi S.P.A.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.