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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
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Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Piero Umiliani, Performer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Cole Porter, Composer - Cole Porter, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Matt L. Dennis, Lyricist - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Thomas Adair, Composer - Piero Umiliani, Performer - Matt L. Dennis, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker - Vernon Duke, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Piero Umiliani, Performer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Vernon Duke, Lyricist - Vernon Duke, Composer
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Joe McCoy, Lyricist - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Piero Umiliani, Performer - Joe McCoy, Composer - Joe McCoy, Lyricist - Helen Merrill, Vocal
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker - Don Raye, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Gene DePaul, Composer - Piero Umiliani, Performer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Don Raye, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Eric Maschwitz, Lyricist - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Jack Strachey, Lyricist - Harry Link, Lyricist - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Eric Maschwitz, Composer - Eric Maschwitz, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani, Performer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Jack Strachey, Composer - Jack Strachey, Lyricist - Harry Link, Composer - Harry Link, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker - Vernon Duke, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Piero Umiliani, Performer - E.Y. Harburg, Composer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Vernon Duke, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Cole Porter, Lyricist - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Piero Umiliani, Performer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Cole Porter, Composer - Cole Porter, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Irving Mills, Lyricist - Eddie DeLange, Lyricist - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Duke Ellington, Lyricist - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Irving Mills, Composer - Irving Mills, Lyricist - Eddie DeLange, Composer - Eddie DeLange, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani, Performer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Duke Ellington, Composer - Duke Ellington, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Ann Ronell, Lyricist - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Piero Umiliani, Performer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal - Ann Ronell, Composer - Ann Ronell, Lyricist
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Einar Aaron Swan, Lyricist - Enrica Gravili, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - Fernando Caiati, Speaker
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Einar Aaron Swan, Composer - Einar Aaron Swan, Lyricist - Piero Umiliani, Performer - Unknown, Producer - Helen Merrill, Vocal
(P) 1961 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (Italy) S.p.A.
Albumbeschreibung
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 Vocale jazz
(P) 1961 Ricordi S.P.A.
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