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Helen
Merrill

Anything Goes

The Complete
1952-1960

Anything Goes

You’d be So
Nice To Come Home To

Why Don’t You
Do Right

Lilac Wine

The House
of the Rising Sun

Helen Merrill est une sommité du jazz vocal. L’artiste américaine est l’une des plus grandes chanteuses de ballades de tous les temps. Cette intégrale dirigée par Olivier Julien revient sur ses meilleures années, pendant lesquelles elle enregistre avec des légendes du jazz : Earl Hines, Clifford Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Hank Jones ou Bill Evans, des albums réalisés par Quincy Jones, Gil Evans ou Ennio Morricone.

            Patrick Frémeaux

Helen Merrill, a vocal jazz luminary. Not just a magnificent American artist, but one of the greatest ballad singers of all time. This “complete recordings” set prepared by Olivier Julien looks back over the best years in her career, when she recorded with musicians who were all jazz legends – Earl Hines, Clifford Brown, Oscar Pettiford, Hank Jones and Bill Evans – and made superb albums in the company of producers and composers equally legendary, Quincy Jones, Gil Evans, Ennio Morricone et al.          Patrick Frémeaux

« Quand on a débuté à dix-huit ans avec Earl Hines, en 1952,
on peut tout se permettre. Quand on signe son premier album,
voulu par Quincy Jones, avec Clifford Brown, on peut durer. »

Francis Marmande, Le Monde 02 juillet 2000

CD1

 1. A Cigarette for Company 2’34

 2. Alone Together     3’11

 3. This Is My Night to Cry   3’08

 4. Don’t Explain       5’11

 5. You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to      4’18

 6. What’s New         4’59

 7. Falling in Love with Love           3’53

 8. Yesterdays            5’58

 9. Born to be Blue    5’13

10. ‘S Wonderful        3’12

11. Lilac Wine            4’23

12. Anything Goes     3’07

13. Mountain High,Valley Low        2’59

14. Beautiful Love     3’13

15. Comes Love         3’00

16. End of a Love Affair        3’26

17. When I Fall in Love         3’20

18. The Masquerade Is Over  4’02

19. Just You, Just Me 3’35

20. Spring Will be A Little Late this year     3’51

CD2

 1. You Won’t Forget Me      3’08

 2. Wait till You See Him     3’25

 3. People Will Say We’re in Love   2’35

 4. By Myself 3’24

 5. Any Place I Hang my Hat Is Home         4’11

 6. I’ve Never Seen    3’34

 7. He Was too Good to Me  3’03

 8. A New Town Is a Blue Town      3’10

 9. You’re Lucky to Me        3’27

10. Where Flamingos Fly       2’46

11. Dream of You      2’54

12. I’m a Fool to Want You   4’07

13. I’m Just a Lucky So and So         3’09

14. Troubled Waters   3’15

15. Soft as Spring       3’14

16. Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair        2’50

17. Lazy Afternoon    3’07

18. The Things we Did Last Summer            3’05

19. After You 3’03

20. If You Go 3’11

21. If I Forget You     3’20

22. If Love Were All  2’58

23. Easy Come Easy Go        3’42

24. I’ll be Around      2’43

CD3

 1. Bye Bye Blackbird           2’57

 2. When the Sun Comes Out           4’46

 3. I Remember You  2’09

 4. Softly As in a Morning Sunrise   3’18

 5. Dearly Beloved    2’06

 6. Summertime         3’26

 7. All of You 3’32

 8. I See Your Face Before Me         2’37

 9. Let Me Love You 2’48

10. The Nearness of You       4’04

11. This Time the Dream’s on Me     2’19

12. Just Imagine         3’23

13. The Blues (from Black,Brown & Beige) 5’22

14. Am I Blue?           3’33

15. Blue Gardenia      3’19

16. You’ve Got a Date with the Blues           3’29

17. The Thrill is Gone            3’35

18. (Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young      3’09

19. Blues in My Heart            3’38

20. Vous m’éblouissez (You Go to My Head)         3’24

21. Lorsque tu m’embrasses (Just Squeeze Me)       2’46

22. The Meaning of the Blues           3’06

23. Signing Off          1’34

CD4

 1. Maybe Tomorrow 2’37

 2. I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry     2’14

 3. You don’t Know Me        2’20

 4. Condemned Without Trial           2’29

 5. You Win Again    2’28

 6. I’m Here to Get my Baby Out of Jail      4’20

 7. A Heart Full of Love        3’04

 8. Cold, Cold Heart  2’39

 9. Devoted to You    2’22

10. My Heart Would Know   2’27

11. Any Time  2’40

12. Half as Much        2’28

13. Night and Day      3’07

14. Everything Happens to Me          2’29

15. Autumn in New York      2’35

16. Why don’t You Do Right 2’20

17. You don’t Know What Love Is   2’57

18. These Foolish Things       3’29

19. April in Paris        3’15

20. I’ve Got You Under my Skin      3’06

21. Solitude    2’24

22. Willow Weep for Me       2’49

23. When your Lover Has Gone        2’12

24. Nun e’ peccato     2’06

25. Estate        2’52

26. Nessuno al mondo           3’22

27. S’e’ fatto tardi      2’24

28. Blue Guitar           2’50

29. Listen        2’37

CD1

 1. A Cigarette for Company 2’34

 2. Alone Together     3’11

 3. This Is My Night to Cry   3’08

- Helen Merrill

 4. Don’t Explain       5’11

 5. You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to      4’18

 6. What’s New         4’59

 7. Falling in Love with Love           3’53

 8. Yesterdays            5’58

 9. Born to be Blue    5’13

10. ‘S Wonderful        3’12

- Helen Merrill with Strings

11. Lilac Wine            4’23

12. Anything Goes     3’07

13. Mountain High,Valley Low        2’59

14. Beautiful Love     3’13

15. Comes Love         3’00

16. End of a Love Affair        3’26

17. When I Fall in Love         3’20

18. The Masquerade Is Over  4’02

19. Just You, Just Me 3’35

20. Spring Will be A Little Late this year     3’51

CD2

 1. You Won’t Forget Me      3’08

 2. Wait till You See Him     3’25

- Dream of You

 3. People Will Say We’re in Love   2’35

 4. By Myself 3’24

 5. Any Place I Hang my Hat Is Home         4’11

 6. I’ve Never Seen    3’34

 7. He Was too Good to Me  3’03

 8. A New Town Is a Blue Town      3’10

 9. You’re Lucky to Me        3’27

10. Where Flamingos Fly       2’46

11. Dream of You      2’54

12. I’m a Fool to Want You   4’07

13. I’m Just a Lucky So and So         3’09

14. Troubled Waters   3’15

- Merrill at Midnight

15. Soft as Spring       3’14

16. Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair        2’50

17. Lazy Afternoon    3’07

18. The Things we Did Last Summer            3’05

19. After You 3’03

20. If You Go 3’11

21. If I Forget You     3’20

22. If Love Were All  2’58

23. Easy Come Easy Go        3’42

24. I’ll be Around      2’43

CD3

- The Nearness of You

 1. Bye Bye Blackbird           2’57

 2. When the Sun Comes Out           4’46

 3. I Remember You  2’09

 4. Softly As in a Morning Sunrise   3’18

 5. Dearly Beloved    2’06

 6. Summertime         3’26

 7. All of You 3’32

 8. I See Your Face Before Me         2’37

 9. Let Me Love You 2’48

10. The Nearness of You       4’04

11. This Time the Dream’s on Me     2’19

12. Just Imagine         3’23

- You’ve Got a Date with the Blues

13. The Blues (from Black,Brown & Beige) 5’22

14. Am I Blue?           3’33

15. Blue Gardenia      3’19

16. You’ve Got a Date with the Blues           3’29

17. The Thrill is Gone            3’35

18. (Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young      3’09

19. Blues in My Heart            3’38

20. Vous m’éblouissez (You Go to My Head)         3’24

21. Lorsque tu m’embrasses (Just Squeeze Me)       2’46

22. The Meaning of the Blues           3’06

23. Signing Off          1’34

CD4

- American Country Songs

 1. Maybe Tomorrow 2’37

 2. I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry     2’14

 3. You don’t Know Me        2’20

 4. Condemned Without Trial           2’29

 5. You Win Again    2’28

 6. I’m Here to Get my Baby Out of Jail      4’20

 7. A Heart Full of Love        3’04

 8. Cold, Cold Heart  2’39

 9. Devoted to You    2’22

10. My Heart Would Know   2’27

11. Any Time  2’40

12. Half as Much        2’28

- Parole e Musica

13. Night and Day      3’07

14. Everything Happens to Me          2’29

15. Autumn in New York      2’35

16. Why don’t You Do Right 2’20

17. You don’t Know What Love Is   2’57

18. These Foolish Things       3’29

19. April in Paris        3’15

20. I’ve Got You Under my Skin      3’06

21. Solitude    2’24

22. Willow Weep for Me       2’49

23. When your Lover Has Gone        2’12

- Helen Merrill Sings Italian Songs

24. Nun e’ peccato     2’06

25. Estate        2’52

26. Nessuno al mondo           3’22

27. S’e’ fatto tardi      2’24

28. Blue Guitar           2’50

29. Listen        2’37

Anything Goes
The Complete Helen Merrill 1952-1960

Par Olivier Julien

J

elena Ana Miltecic est née le 21 juillet 1930 à Chelsea dans le quartier de Manhattan à New York. Ses parents, immigrants croates, déménagent rapidement dans la 170éme rue dans le quartier du Bronx. Elle a trois sœurs et un garçon décède avant qu’elle ne naisse ce qui « créera une ambiance pesante dans la famille. » Sa sœur de six ans son aînée jouera par substitution le rôle de mère car cette dernière fait de nombreux séjours en hôpital avant de succomber alors que Jelena n’est encore qu’une enfant, elle lui laissera néanmoins le souvenir des chants croates et son goût pour les grands compositeurs tels que Jérôme Kern qu’elle jouait sur le phonographe familial. Elle chantait beaucoup dans la maison ce qui donnera à Jelena l’envie d’en faire son métier, dés l’age de deux ou trois ans elle prit l’habitude de s’entraîner dans les toilettes pour échapper aux critiques. Grâce à sa sœur aînée, elle découvre les « Big band » à la radio tels que Jimmie Lunceford et Count Basie, elle est envoûtée par la voix de Billie Holiday bien sur mais également Lester Young et Ben Wester, c’est d’après eux qu’elle apprendra sa technique de chant. Elle a essayé de prendre des cours mais son père s’y opposa fortement accusant le professeur de la pervertir, ainsi s’arrêta sa seule expérience formelle. Elle s’est aussi essayée au piano alors qu’elle était enfant sur un instrument de carton à l’école mais l’expérience ne durera que deux mois car elle ne possédait pas de piano à la maison. À l’époque, un enfant pouvait s’aventurer dans les clubs de jazz et dés le milieu des années quarante, c’est au Club 845 qu’elle croise Charlie Parker et Miles Davis. Johnny Johnson, le directeur, lui permet de s’y produire dès l’age de quatorze ans sous son véritable nom « Helen Milcetic », ce jour là, elle est accompagnée au piano par Bud Powell. Dès qu’elle se mit à chanter, Powell s’arrêta de jouer et lui fit un grand sourire avant de reprendre, ce fut pour Helen un grand compliment qu’il lui rappellera des années plus tard dans le sud de la France. Son père, qui travaille sur un remorqueur, ne sait rien des passions de sa fille, un jour, à l’age de seize ans, elle subtilise son pass qui permet à la famille de voyager gratuitement et se rend avec une amie à Chicago pour y applaudir Jackie Cain, son père ne le sut jamais.

En 1952, elle chante au Club 845 avec toute sorte de musiciens, elle a l’oreille exercée et n’a pas besoin de répétitions ce qui lui permet de s’adapter aux arrangements dits féminins. Son mari de l’époque, le clarinettiste Aaron Sachs, faisait partie du sextet de Earl « Fatha » Hines, ils partent ainsi sur les routes avec leur enfant en bas age (Alan Merill qui deviendra chanteur et compositeur et qui signera le tube international I love rock’n’roll). Etta Jones fait également joyeusement partie de l’aventure et les musiciens se montrèrent très amicaux avec Helen. Le groupe était composé de Jonah Jones, Bennie Green, Aaron Sachs, Earl Hines, Tommy Potter et Osie Johnson, c’est avec cette formation qu’elle enregistre son premier titre A cigarette for company (78 tours 25cm D’oro - 102). Un jour, pendant la tournée, Charlie Parker appelle Helen sur scène et elle interprète deux titres avec lui. En 1954, nouvelle expérience phonographique avec le label Mercury qui produit une compilation nommée Songs for the mood you’re in (33 tours 30cm Mercury - MG 20161), Helen y interprète le titre Alone together aux cotés d’autres chanteurs et chanteuses dont Sarah Vaughan. Le label EmArcy était lancé cette année là par le directeur artistique de Mercury Bob Shad et le titre sera repris pour son premier 78 tours enregistré en janvier 1954 avec le nouveau label couplé à This is my night to cry (78 tours 25cm EmArcy 16000) accompagnée par Johnny Richards et son orchestre.

C’est Bennie Green qui la poussera à enregistrer avec Quincy Jones qu’Helen connaissait déjà comme voisin à New York. Il lui dit « Tu dois faire quelque chose avec Helen », ce qu’il fit en 1955 alors qu’il venait également de rejoindre le label EmArcy, ils enregistrent ensemble l’album éponyme Helen Merrill (33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG 36006) qui comporte sept titres : Don’t explain, You’d be so nice to come home to, What’s new, Falling in love with love, Yesterdays, Born to be blue et ‘S wonderful dirigés et arrangés par Quincy Jones avec Oscar Petitford et Milt Hilton à la basse et au violoncelle, Jimmy Jones au piano, Danny Barks à la flute, Barry Galbraith à la guitare et Clifford Brown à la trompette. Helen se produit alors au club Birdland terrifiée et « les genoux tremblants ».

Bob Shad lui propose alors un album avec des cordes : Helen Merrill with strings (33tours 30cm EmArcy - MG-36057) qui paraît toujours en 1955. Même si aujourd’hui Helen regrette de ne pas avoir continué dans une veine purement jazz, elle voit néanmoins cet album comme un challenge ; le disque sous la direction de Richard Hayman comporte douze titres : Lilac wine, Anything goes, Mountain high,valley low, Beautiful love, Comes love, End of a love affair, When I fall in love, The masquerade is over, Just you,just me, Spring will be a little late this year, You won’t forget me et Wait till you see him. L’orchestre est composé de Hank Jones au piano, Barry Galbraith à la guitare,Sol Gubin à la batterie et Mill Hinton à la basse.

Malgré un refus de Bob Shad, Helen Merrill ne demord pas de l’idée de travailler avec Gil Evans qu’elle a rencontré dans les milieux new-yorkais et dont elle adore le travail pour Claude Thornhill ; il est connu pour être cher et pour dépasser les délais sur les sessions d’enregistrements. Shad finit par plier et Gil Evans devient l’arrangeur de Dream of you (33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG-36078) qui comporte : People will say we’re in love, By myself, Any place I hang my hat is home, I’ve never seen, He was too good to me, A new town is a blue town, You’re lucky to me, Where flamingos fly, Dream of you, I’m a fool to want you, I’m just a lucky so and so et Troubled waters. On retrouve Barry Galbraith à la guitare et et Hank Jones au piano accompagnés d’Art Farmer et Louis R.Mucci à la trompette, Joe Burnett et Jimmy Cleveland aux trombones, Jerome Richardson à la flute et au saxophone ténor, John Laporta à la clarinette et au saxophone alto, Danny Bank au saxophone baryton, Joe Morello à la batterie et Oscar Pettiford à la basse L’album n’est pas un réel succès et sur un plan plus personnel, Helen divorce d’avec Aaron Sachs tout en continuant la tournée des clubs. Fin 1956, Bob Shad est toujours déterminé à faire d’Helen Merrill une chanteuse pop et réoriente sa carrière vers des arrangements de cordes ; c’est donc Hal Mooney qui pilotera le nouvel album Merrill at midnight : Soft as spring, Black is the color of my true love’s hair, Lazy afternoon, The things we did last summer, After you, If you go, If I forget you, If love were all, Easy come easy go et I’ll be around (33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG 36107), avec Milt Hinton à la basse, Sol Gubin à la batterie, Billy Mure à la guitare, Buddy Weed au piano et Romeo Penque au hautbois.

Un dernier opus sera enregistré pour Emarcy et paraît en 1957 arrangé par Hal Mooney et David Carroll avec notamment Johnny Frigo, Bill Evans et George Russell. The nearness of you : Bye bye blackbird, When the sun comes out, I remember you, Softly as in a morning sunrise, Dearly beloved, Summertime, All of you, I see your face before me, Let me love you, The nearness of you, This time the dream’s on me et Just imagine (33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG 36134).

Helen Merrill a désormais construit une carrière qui, contrairement à d’autres chanteuses, ne repose pas sur le succès d’une chanson en particulier et ses albums, avec le temps, deviendront des classiques. En 1958, Helen collaborera le temps d’un album avec le label Metrojazz pour You’ve got a date with the blues : The blues (from black,brown & beige), Am I blue ?, Blue gardenia, You’ve got a date with the blues, The thrill is gone, (Ah, the apple trees) when the world was young, Blues in my heart, Vous m’éblouissez (you go to my head), Lorsque tu m’embrasses (just squeeze me), The meaning of the blues, Signing off (33 tours 30cm Metrojazz – E1010). L’industrie musicale change avec notamment l’arrivée du Rock’n’roll et la nouvelle maison de disques d’Helen décide de lui faire adopter un tournant professionnel en l’amenant dans l’univers de la country même si « elle n’était pas complè­tement passionnée par les morceaux » elle juge néanmoins le résultat satisfaisant. Atlantic records, sous la direction de Nehusi Ertegun publie alors l’album American country songs arrangé par Chuck Sagle en 1959 et Helen se frotte à ce nouveau style avec élégance ; douze titres sont enregistrés : Maybe tomorrow, I’m so lonesome I could cry, You do’nt know me, Condemned without trial, You win again, I’m here to get my baby out of jail, A heart full of love, Cold, cold heart, Devoted to you, My heart would know, Any time et Half as much.

Helen vit une situation amoureuse compliquée et décide qu’elle a besoin de prendre de la distance ; tout d’abord elle accepte la proposition de Leonard Feather d’aller chanter à Londres avec Dudley Moore pour un show de radio.
Ainsi elle voyage avec son fils Alan et accepte l’invitation pour la deuxième édition du festival international de Comblain la tour. Elle y rencontre le pianiste Romano Mussolini, fils du dictateur, qui l’invite à venir enregistrer en Italie, elle rompt alors son contrat avec Atlantic records et déménage à Rome où elle multiplie les collaborations, elle y enregistre l’album Parole e musica qui ren­contre un véritable succès : Night and day, Everything happens to me, Autumn in New York, Why don’t you do right, You don’t know what love is, These foolish things, April in Paris, I’ve got you under my skin, Solitude, Willow weep for me et When your lover has gone avec Piero Umiliani et son ensemble (33 tours 30cm RCA Italiana - LPM-1010).

C’est sous la direction d’Ennio Morricone qu’elle enregistre quatre titres en italien ; Helen Merrill sings italian songs : Nun e’ peccato, Estate, Nessuno al mondo, S’e’ fatto tardi (45 tours EP RCA Italiana - Epa 30-387) « ses arrangements sont fabuleux ». Helen participe également à une série de shows pour la télévision. Vivant désormais à Rome, elle se rend au Japon en 1963 pour enregistrer mais annule sa tournée pétrifiée de peur.

Après un retour aux États-Unis en 1964, elle sort deux albums avant de s’installer à Tokyo en 1966. Elle y est une immense star et partage son temps entre sa carrière, la production pour le label Trio Records et l’animation d’une émission sur une radio tokyoïte.

En 1972, elle regagne les États-Unis et se dédie à la production, à l’enregistrement et aux tournées, diversifiant son répertoire par des albums de bossa nova, des chants de Noël et des hommages à Irving Berlin ou Rodgers & Hammerstein. L’album Collaboration sorti en 1987 voit Helen Merrill renouer avec Gil Evans pour de nouveaux arrangements de Dream of You. elle enregistre Elena Ana Miltecic a.k.a. Helen Merrill en 2000 puis Lilac Wine en 2004 et Smooth en 2015. Elle perd son fils Alan en mars 2020 des suites de la Covid 19.

Olivier Julien

© Frémeaux & Associés 2022

Anything Goes
The Complete Helen Merrill 1952-1960

By Olivier Julien

J

elena Ana Miltecic was born on July 21, 1930 in the Chelsea borough of New York’s Manhattan, and her parents, Croatian immigrants, would settle on 170th Street in the Bronx. She had three sisters, and her mother gave birth to a brother who died before Jelena was born, which “created a heavy atmosphere in the family.” Her elder sister (by six years) acted as her surrogate mother when the latter was often in hospital due to illness, and her mother died when Jelena still only a child. But she would leave the family with memories of Croatian songs and her taste for the great composers such as Jerome Kern, whose records she played on the family phonograph. She sang often in the house, which handed down to Jelena her desire for a singing career. When she was two or three years old she made a habit of practising in the bathroom to escape her critics…

Thanks to her elder sister, Jelena discovered radio big bands like the formations of Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie. She was spellbound by the voice of Billie Holiday of course, but also by the sounds of saxophonists Lester Young and Ben Wester, alongside which she developed her singing technique. She tried to take lessons but her father was strongly opposed, even to the point of accusing her teacher of corrupting his daughter, so her only formal training was brought to an abrupt halt. She also tried her hand at the piano while still a child, an old paper piano at her school, but without an instrument at home the experiment lasted only two months.

In those days a child could wander into a jazz club, and by the mid-Forties she had crossed paths with Charlie Parker and Miles Davis at the Club 845. Its manager Johnny Johnson booked her to appear there when she was only fourteen (under her real name Helen Milcetic) and she was accompanied on piano by Bud Powell. As soon as she began singing, Powell stopped playing, giving her a broad smile before taking up the song again. It was a great compliment to Helen and he reminded her of it years later in the south of France. The singer’s father, who worked on a tugboat, knew nothing of his daughter’s love of jazz. One day, when she was sixteen, she “borrowed” his pass that allowed his family free travel, and she and a girlfriend went to Chicago to applaud Jackie Cain. Her father never knew anything about it.

In 1952 she was singing at the Club 845 with all sorts of musicians. She had a practised ear and no need for rehearsal, which allowed her to adapt to so-called “female” arrangements. Her then husband, clarinettist Aaron Sachs, was a member of Earl “Fatha” Hines’ sextet, and together they went on the road, taking with them their young son (Alan Merrill, who would become a singer and the composer who wrote the international hit “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll.) Etta Jones was also part of that gleeful adventure, and the musicians all became Helen’s friends: Jonah Jones, Bennie Green, Aaron Sachs, Earl Hines, Tommy Potter and Osie Johnson were the group accompanying Helen when she made her first recording, A cigarette for company (78rpm 10” D’oro 102). Charlie Parker called Helen up on stage one day during the tour and she sang two titles with him. She had a new recording experience in 1954 with the Mercury label, which produced the compilation Songs for the mood you’re in (33rpm 12” Mercury MG 20161), with Helen singing Alone together alongside other singers including Sarah Vaughan. That year, Mercury producer Bob Shad launched the EmArcy label, and the title would be picked up for her first 78rpm disc (recorded in January 1954) that appeared on the new label coupled with This is my night to cry (78rpm 10” EmArcy 16000), where she was accompanied by Johnny Richards and his orchestra.

It was Bennie Green who encouraged her to record with Quincy Jones (he had already been Helen’s neighbour in New York.) He told Q, “You must do something with Helen,” and Quincy did just that in 1955 (after also joining EmArcy) when together they recorded her eponymous album Helen Merrill (33rpm 12” EmArcy MG 36006) made up of seven titles – Don’t explain, You’d be so nice to come home to, What’s new, Falling in love with love, Yesterdays, Born to be blue and ‘S wonderful – arranged and conducted by Quincy. It featured Oscar Pettiford and Milt Hilton on bass and cello, Jimmy Jones on piano and Danny Banks on flute, with guitarist Barry Galbraith and trumpeter Clifford Brown. Helen was appearing at “Birdland” at the time and said she was so terrified her knees were trembling.

Bob Shad then offered her an album with a string-orchestra, and Helen Merrill with strings (33rpm 12” EmArcy MG-36057) appeared the same year (1955.) Even if Helen today regrets that she didn’t continue in a purely jazz vein, she still sees that album as a challenge. Conducted by Richard Hayman, it had twelve titles: Lilac wine, Anything goes, Mountain high, valley low, Beautiful love, Comes love, End of a love affair, When I fall in love, The masquerade is over, Just you, just me, Spring will be a little late this year, You won’t forget me and Wait till you see him. Despite Bob Shad’s refusal, Helen Merrill stuck to her idea of working with Gil Evans, whom she’d met in New York’s jazz circles (she adored his arrangements for Claude Thornhill.) Gil was known to be expensive, not to mention elastic overruns on record-sessions. Shad finally gave in, and Gil Evans would arrange Dream Of You (33rpm 12” EmArcy MG-36078) which featured People will say we’re in love, By myself, Any place I hang my hat is home, I’ve never seen, He was too good to me, A new town is a blue town, You’re lucky to me, Where flamingos fly, Dream of you, I’m a fool to want you, I’m just a lucky so-and-so and Troubled waters. But it wasn’t a great success and on top of that, Helen and Aaron Sachs divorced. Helen continued to do club-work, yet by the end of 1956 Bob Shad was still just as determined to make Helen a pop-singer, and he oriented her towards material with arrangements for strings. So Hal Mooney would take the reins for the new album Merrill at Midnight, which included Soft as spring, Black is the color of my true love’s hair, Lazy afternoon, The things we did last summer, After you, If you go, If I forget you, If love were all, Easy come easy go and I’ll be around (33rpm 12” EmArcy MG 36107). A final opus recorded for EmArcy was released in 1957 with the participation of Johnny Frigo, Bill Evans and George Russell. Under the title The Nearness Of You it contained Bye bye blackbird, When the sun comes out, I remember you, Softly as in a morning sunrise, Dearly beloved, Summertime, All of you, I see your face before me, Let me love you, The nearness of you, This time the dream’s on me and Just imagine (33rpm 12” EmArcy MG 36134). Helen Merrill had by now fashioned a career that, unlike other singers, didn’t rely on the success of one particular song, and her albums, over time, have become classics. In 1958, Helen made one album for the label Metrojazz, and under the title You’ve Got A Date With The Blues it featured The blues (from Black, Brown & Beige), Am I blue?, Blue Gardenia, You’ve got a date with the blues, The thrill is gone, (Ah, the apple trees) when the world was young, Blues in my heart, Vous m’éblouissez (you go to my head), Lorsque tu m’embrasses (just squeeze me), The meaning of the blues and Signing off (33rpm 12” Metrojazz E1010). But the music industry was changing, notably with the arrival of rock ’n’ roll, and Helen’s new record-company Atlantic Records decided to have her adopt a new direction, drawing her into the country music sphere, “even if she wasn’t totally overwhelmed by the music.” Helen, however, was satisfied with the result. Atlantic then released American country songs in 1959 and Helen tackled this new style with elegance, recording twelve titles: Maybe tomorrow, I’m so lonesome I could cry, You don’t know me, Condemned without trial, You win again, I’m here to get my baby out of jail, A heart full of love, Cold, cold heart, Devoted to you, My heart would know, Any time and Half as much. At the time, Helen’s love-life was complicated and she need to breathe some fresh air: firstly, she accepted Leonard Feather’s invitation to sing in London on Dudley Moore’s radio show. She travelled with her son Alan and accepted to appear on the second edition of the international festival in Comblain La Tour. There she met pianist Romano Mussolini, the dictator’s son, who invited her to go to Italy and record there; she broke her Atlantic contract and moved to Rome, playing with many and making the album Parole e musica, which was a great success thanks to Night and Day, Everything happens to me, Autumn in New York, Why don’t you do right, You don’t know what love is, These foolish things, April in Paris, I’ve got you under my skin, Solitude, Willow weep for me and When your lover has gone (33rpm 12” RCA Italiana LPM-1010). With Ennio Morricone conducting, she recorded four titles in Italian, Helen Merrill Sings Italian Songs:
Nun e’ peccato, Estate, Nessuno al mondo, S’e’ fatto tardi (45rpm EP, RCA Italiana Epa 30-387) and declared “his arrangements are fabulous.” She also appeared in a series of shows for television. From now on an Italian resident, she went to Japan in 1963 to record but cancelled a tour there because she was so terrified.

After her 1964 return to the United-States, she released two albums before settling in Tokyo in 1966. There she was an immense star, dividing her time between her career, producing for the Trio Records label and presenting a Tokyo radio show.

In 1972, she went back to the United States and devoted herself to production, recording and tours, lending variety to her records with albums of bossa nova, Christmas songs and tributes to Irving Berlin or Rodgers & Hammerstein. The album Collaboration of 1987 saw Helen Merrill renew her association with Gil Evans on new arrangements of Dream of You. She recorded Elena Ana Miltecic a.k.a. Helen Merrill in 2000, then Lilac Wine in 2004 and Smooth in 2015. Her son Alan died in March 2020 after a coronavirus infection.

Olivier Julien

English Adaptation : Martin Davies

© Frémeaux & Associés 2022

Anything Goes - The Complete Helen Merrill 1952-1960

DISCOGRAPHIE

CD1

 1 - A Cigarette for Company (Fred Roth-Earl Hines-Miller)

Accompagnée par Earl «Fatha» Hines et son orchestre

78 tours 25cm D’oro - 102 - 1952

 2 - Alone Together (Howard Dietz-Arthur Schwartz)

 3 - This is My Night to Cry (Phil Medley-Bill Sanford)

Accompagnée par Johnny Richards et son orchestre

78 tours 25cm EmArcy 16000 - 1954

- Helen Merrill

 4 - Don’t Explain (Arthur Herzog-Billie Holiday)

 5 - You’d Be so Nice to Come Home to (Cole Porter)

 6 - What’s New (Bob Haggart- Johnny Burke)

 7 - Falling in Love With Love (Richard Rogers-Laurenz Hart)

 8 - Yesterdays (Jerome Kern-Otto Harback)

 9 - Born to Be Blue (Mel Tormé- Robert Wells)

10 - ‘S Wonderful (George Gershwin)

Accompagnée par Quincy Jones et son orchestre

33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG 36006 - 1955

- Helen Merrill with Strings

11 - Lilac Wine (James Shelton)

12 - Anything Goes (Cole Porter)

13 - Mountain High,Valley Low (Raymond Scott)

14 -
Beautiful Love (Gillespie-Victor Young-Wayne King-Egbert Van Alstyne)

15 - Comes Love (Charles Tobias-Sam H. Stept-Lew Brown)

16 - End of a Love Affair (Edward C. Redding)

17 - When I Fall in Love (Edward Heyman-Victor Young)

18 - The Masquerade Is Over (Allie Wrubel-Herb Magidson)

19 - Just You, Just Me (James Green-Raymond Klages)

20 - Spring Will Be a Little Late this Year (Frank Loesser)

CD2

 1 - You Won’t Forget Me (Kermit Goell-Fred Spielman)

 2 - Wait till You See Him (Richard Rogers-Laurenz Hart)

Accompagnée par Richard Hayman et son orchestre

33tours 30cm EmArcy - MG-36057 – 1955

- Dream of You

 3 -
People Will Say We’re in Love (Richard Rodgers-Oscar Ham­merstein)

 4 - By Myself (Howard Dietz-Arthur Schwartz)

 5 - Any Place I Hang my Hat is Home (Harold Arlen-Johnny Mercer)

 6 - I’ve Never Seen (Dorcas Cochran-Don Marcotte)

 7 - He Was too Good to Me (Richard Rogers-Laurenz Hart)

 8 - A New Town Is a Blue Town (Jerry Ross-Richard Adler)

 9 - You’re Lucky to Me (Andy Razaf-Eubie Blake)

10 -
Where Flamingos Fly (Haold Courtlander-Elthea Peale-George Benson Brooks)

11 - Dream of You (Sy Oliver)

12 - I’m a Fool to Want You (Frank Sinatra-Jack Wolf-Joel Herron)

13 - I’m Just a Lucky so and so (Mack David-Duke Ellington)

14 - Troubled Waters (Arthur Johnston-Sam Coslow)

Accompagnée par Gil Evans et son orchestre

33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG-36078 - 1956

- Merrill at Midnight

15 - Soft as Spring (Alec Wilder)

16 - Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair (Public Domain)

17 - Lazy Afternoon (John Latouche-Jerome Moross)

18 - The Things we Did Last Summer (Jule Styne-Sam Cahn)

19 - After You (Cole Porter)

20 - If you Go (Geoffrey Parsons-Michel Emer)

21 - If I Forget you (Irving Caesar)

22 - If Love Were All (Noël Coward)

23 - Easy Come Easy Go (Johnny Green-Edward Heyman)

24 - I’ll be Around (Alec Wilder)

Accompagnée par Hal Mooney et son orchestre

33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG 36107 – 1957

CD3

- The Nearness of You

 1 - Bye Bye Blackbird (Ray Henderson-Mort Dixon)

 2 - When the Sun Comes Out (Ted Koehler-Harold Arlen)

 3 - I Remember You (Johnny Mercer-Victor Schertzinger)

 4 -
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise (Sigmund Romberg-Oscar Hammerstein II)

 5 - Dearly Beloved (Jerome Kern-Johnny Mercer)

 6 - Summertime (George Gershwin-Dubose Heywood)

 7 - All of You (Cole Porter)

 8 - I See your Face Before Me (Arthur Schwartz-Howard Dietz)

 9 - Let Me Love You (Bart Howard)

10 - The Nearness of You (Hoagy Carmichael-Ned Washington)

11 - This Time the Dream’s on Me (Harold Arlen-Johnny Mercer)

12 - Just Imagine (Ray Henderson-Lew Brown-Buddy Desylva)

Accompagnée par David Carroll et Hal Mooney
et leurs orchestres

33 tours 30cm EmArcy - MG 36134 - 1957

- You’ve Got a Date with the Blues

13 - The Blues (from black,brown & beige) (Duke Ellington)

14 - Am I Blue? (Grant Clarke-Harry Akst)

15 - Blue Gardenia (Bob Russell-Lester Lee)

16 - You’ve Got a Date with the Blues (Leonard Feather)

17 - The Thrill is Gone (Lew Brown-Ray Henderson)

18 -
(Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young (Johnny Mercer-Michel Philippe-Gerard)

19 - Blues in My Heart (Benny Carter)

20 -
Vous m’éblouissez (You Go to My Head) (Fred Coots-Haven Gillepsie-Louis Henneve-Louis Palex)

21 -
Lorsque tu m’embrasses (Just Squeeze Me) (Duke Ellington
-Jacques Plante)

22 - The Meaning of the Blues (Bobby Troup-Leah Worth)

23 - Signing Off (Leonard Feather-Jessyca Russell)

Accompagnée par Jimmy Jones et son orchestre

33 tours 30cm Metrojazz - E1010– 1958

CD4

- American Country Songs

 1 - Maybe Tomorrow (Don Everly)

 2 - I’m so Lonesome I could Cry (Hank Williams)

 3 - You don’t Know Me (Eddy Arnold)

 4 - Condemned Without Trial (Hal Blair-Don Robertson)

 5 - You Win Again (Hank Williams)

 6 - I’m Here to Get my Baby Out of Jail (Karl Davis-Harty Taylor)

 7 - A Heart Full of Love (Steve Nelson-Ray Soehnel)

 8 - Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams)

 9 - Devoted to You (Boudleaux Bryant)

10 - My Heart Would Know (Hank Williams)

11 - Any Time (Herbert Lawson)

12 - Half as Much (Hank Williams)

Accompagnée par Chuck Sagle et son orchestre

33 tours 30cm ATCO Records - SD 33-112 - 1959

- Parole e Musica

13 - Night and Day (Cole Porter)

14 - Everything Happens to Me (Tom Adair-Matt Dennis)

15 - Autumn in New York (Vernon Duke)

16 - Why Don’t you do Right (Joseph McCoy)

17 - You Don’t Know What Love Is (Don Raye-Gene De Paul)

18 -
These Foolish Things (Harry Link-Jack Strachey-Eric Mas­chwitz)

19 - April in Paris (Vernon Duke-Yip Harburg)

20 - I’ve Got You Under my Skin (Cole Porter)

21 – Solitude (Eddie De Lange-irving Mills-Duke Ellington)

22 - Willow Weep for Me (Ann Ronell)

23 - When Your Lover Has Gone (Einar Aaron Swan)

Accompagnée par Piero Umaliani et son orchestre

33 tours 30cm RCA Italiana - LPM-10105 - 1960

- Helen Merrill Sings Italian Songs

24 - Nun e’ peccato (Carlo Alberto Rossi-Ugo Calise)

25 - Estate (Bruno Martino-Bruno Brighetti)

26 -
Nessuno al mondo (Art Crafer-Jimmy Nebb-Nino Rastelli-Gioia)

27 - S’e’ fatto tardi (Gianni Meccia-Lili Greco)

Accompagnée par Amando Trovaioli et son orchrestre Arrangements par Ennio Morricone

45 tours EP RCA Italiana - Epa 30-387 - 1960

28 - Blue Guitar (Bill Coleman)

29 - Listen (Jean Brousselle-Gilbert Becaud-George Sydney)

Accompagnée par Hal Mooney et son orchestre

45 tours SP Mercury 77166X45 - 1957

45 tours SP Mercury 77166X45 - 1957