Helen Merrill

An excellent singer having a warm, expressive tone of voice, Helen Merrill’s infrequent recordings have a tendency to end up being quite particular with a lot of surprises and chance-taking. She began singing in public areas in 1944 and was using the Reggie Childs Orchestra during 1946-1947. Merrill, who was simply married for an interval to clarinetist Aaron Sachs, experienced opportunities to sit down in with a number of the best modernists of that time period, including Charlie Parker, Kilometers Davis, and Bud Powell. She was with Earl Hines in 1952 and began recording frequently for EmArcy in 1954. Her cooperation with Clifford Brownish was her 1st classic. She produced several significant EmArcy albums during 1954-1958 (including one in 1956 that helped provide Gil Evans from pension); all have already been reissued in a big box. After documenting for Atco and Metrojazz in 1959, she relocated to Italy for another four years, touring frequently in European countries and Japan. Back the U.S., Merrill teamed with pianist/arranger Dick Katz for a set of notable and unstable Milestone times (1967-1968) and relocated to Japan where she was very popular. Helen Merrill came back to america in the middle-’70s and it has since documented for Inner Town, Owl, EmArcy (including a reunion day with Gil Evans) Antilles, and Verve, which released her 2000 recording Jelena Ana Milcetic a.k.a. Helen Merrill.