Helen Merrill w/Clifford Brown

Competent but not special singing.

Helen Merrill an unforgettable voice dressed up with unforgettable trumpet sound of Clifford Brown, the ONE of the Great trumpet of all time

This is a classic jazz album, not just vocal jazz. Her voice is so stylish and full. Clifford knows what he's doing so nothing need be said about his playing. Get these tracks!

Helen Merril's collaboration with Clifford Brown remains a delight and a high point in American music history. This music is divine.

well

Merrill is in good voice but I can hear Brown thinking (he sounds more inspired live).

This is an amazing and very famous recording. The all-too-brief convergence of a young and talented Helen Merrill, the tragically-short-lived trumpet legend Clifford Brown, and the legendary producer, musician and arranger Quincy Jones, produced magic. The pairing of Merrill and Brown is a study in contrasts. Clifford Brown was one of the boldest and strongest trumpet players of any era, and Helen Merrill's vocals are deceptively soft, but the two blend together perfectly because of Merrill's innate understanding of music, emotion, and voicing, and Brown's lyricism. The listener can relate to Merrill's feelings and emotions in every song. Quincy Jones, at the time, had recently joined Mercury as a producer, after his tenure as a big-band musician and bandleader. As with any Quincy production before or since, one can hear his musical talent, his passion, and his understanding of the repertoire and individual players, in the arrangements and the production. He was able to bring out the best in all the participants in the session. The recording is clear and captures every nuance.This is one of those records that can cause you to pull your car over to the side of the road in order to listen to it. It's romantic and beautiful, but lean and precise - no syrupy strings or other extra fluff. Arguably, its greatness isn't even limited to the jazz vocal genre; if you like jazz at all, this is a must-have. Heck, it's worth it just to hear this many talented people working together, and what can result when the stars are aligned.

I 'discovered' this album by accident while digging up every Clifford Brown track I could uncover. Clifford's parts on the album are as I expected: amazing. What I did not expect was to be so taken with Helen Merrill. Her voice, phrasing and attitude immediately made me a fan.My favorite tracks from the perspective of showcasing Clifford's playing are You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, Don't Explain, and Falling in Love With Love. However, stepping back and listening to the album for the sake of amazing music, including Helen's vocals, I fell in love with Born To Be Blue.Naturally, I started digging up everything I could about Helen and this session and stumbled across a real gem: Marc Myers' interview of Helen on JazzWax provided even more insights into the session and into why she and Clifford (and the rest of the ensemble) clicked. She related that she and Clifford were both shy and nervous during the session, but when he picked up his horn he was in total command. That comes through on the album. She also gave Quncy Jones a lot of credit for selecting most of the musicians and his skills as a producer. That, too, comes through on the ambum. Her reasons, also stated in the aforementioned interview, were that both had enormous taste and that Osie Johnson was a great singer as well as a drummer.The album itself was recorded in late December, 1954 and released in 1955. Other background info is it was arranged by Quincy Jones with Helen Merrill on vocals, Clifford Brown on trumpet, Milt Hinton on bass, Danny Bano on flute, bass clarinet and baritone sax, Osie Johnson on drums, Barry Galbraith on guitar, and Hank and Jimmy Jones on piano. As a side note: Helen herself insisted on incliding Osie Johnson and Barry Galbraith.

Not her very best

Sorprendente y muy agradable de escuchar. Lastima que solo contenga 7 canciones, aunque todas ellas fantasticas. El acompañamiento de Clifford Brown a la trompeta es de lo mejor que he oido.

Je connaissais déjà Helen Merrill, mais cet album m'a révélé une chanteuse minimaliste certes, mais très expressive -et superbement accompagnée!

２曲目。　あまりにも有名になりましたね。you would be so nice to～という受験生の英語学習にも役立ちそうなフレーズですね。　間接的希望・推量話法としてのwould　不定詞としてのto、でしょうか（違ってたらゴメン）ヘレンメリルのハスキーヴォイスにクリフォードブラウンのトランペットが絡む、、、絶妙です。　クインシージョーンズのアレンジとは、実は知りませんでした。　ちょっと感動。　モノラルでも音はリアル。　トランペット同様、ヘレンメリルの歌声がスピーカーの真ん中からこちらに向かって浮かび上がります。　その、手に取るような音像感触は、オリビアニュートンジョンの「そよ風の誘惑」以上かも。バックで何気なくポロンポロンとコード主体のピアノもいい味出してます。　そして、ブラシがスネアのヘッドをシャリッ、シャリッと撫でる、そこに浮かび上がるクリフォードブラウン、ヘレンメリルの音像・・・。　夜、静かに、しかし大き目の音で流したい音楽です。

※MQA CD盤のレビューです。CDの帯や商品説明にはオリジナル・アナログ・テープを基にした2020年DSDマスターを352.8kHz／24bitに変換して収録と記載されていますが実際には176.4kHz収録でした。これから購入される方はご注意下さい。ヘレン・メリル初のMQA CDと言うことで購入したのでショックでした。