LP HELEN MERRILL 1955 Emarcy JAZZ Clifford Brown EX
$
105
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Description
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This record has been cleaned and played through completely both sides on a Lenco L75 Turntable as well as visually inspected under a bright halogen desk lamp to provide an accurate grading.
************************************************************ PLEASE NOTE : This item is located in Australia and accordingly REGISTERED Air-Mail to USA / Nth America is USD$20.00 AND NOT the costs listed in check-out which only allow for postage within US and not half-way around the world …full and correct costs for shipping are detailed at the bottom of this page …Thanks…
12” Album
HELEN MERRILL
…self-titled album… 1st pressing
1955 orig 1ST Australian issue
EMARCY / Mercury label # MG-36006 ~ Mono (Matrix No’s MG-36006 A and MG-36006 B).
CONDITION
VINYL : the first thing you notice is that this is more like a dinner plate than a record …an amazingly thick piece that chimes in at 200 grams alone !! / a couple of small and quite light marks either side however the sound is superb as you would expect with this deep-grooved recording / I think I detected perhaps one or two light pops in all however neither really impeded the excellent music quality here / certainly no skips whatsoever or annoying background noise for that matter / no lead in-out hiss either / glossy throughout and clean labels / rated EX easily … actually it plays more-like EX+ and a real gemSLEEVE : fantastic / no writing or splits and the spine is intact / no ring-wear / some minor creasing at lower right corner but given the thinness of the sleeve here it presents remarkably well.
DESCRIPTION
A superb and very rare 1954 Aussie 1st pressing debut album (with the Australian publishing houses on the labels) from acclaimed US jazz singer Helen Merrill.This much sought after Emarcy label album sees Helen joined by legendary trumpet player Clifford Brown along with and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford. Other noted players are Jimmy Jones (piano), Danny Banks (flute), Barry Galbraith (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass) plus Osie Johnson and Bobby Donaldson (drums). Production and arrangments here are by Quincy Jones, who was then just twenty-one years old.
…Though she eventually came to be known as a "singer's singer," Helen Merrill's 1954 debut is an unmitigated success of mainstream jazz. Besides introducing the uniquely talented young singer, the date also featured small-group arrangments by Quincy Jones and marks the introduction of another future star, trumpeter Clifford Brown. Formidable as his playing is, Brown never overshadows Merrill, however. She is fully up to the challenge on all fronts and enthusiastically tackles uptempo numbers such as "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and "Falling In Love With Love" with aplomb. A winning stylistic combination of cool jazz and hard bop, Merrill particularly excels on Mel Torme's "Born To Be Blue," making the sophisticated tune her own as well as reveling in Torme's down-and-out lyric….
A very rare original from 55 years ago that understandably hardly ever surfaces these days and this one is in beautiful shape.
I also doubt whether you would ever see that many Australian issues around at all as this was pressed in very limited numbers.
MORE NOTES
Recorded in December, 1954, when Helen Merrill was only twenty-five, this recording was heralded the start of her amazing career. With Clifford Brown on trumpet, arrangements by Quincy Jones, who was himself only twenty-one, and fantastic back-up (Jimmy Jones on piano is especially notable), Helen Merrill was free to unloose her jazz interpretations and her explore her dramatic talent with lyrics. With a lush voice which still retains the sweetness of youth, she offers new variations on familiar melodic lines, provides sensitive interpretations of sad songs, and happily jives to the upbeat.Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain," one of the saddest songs ever written, is brilliantly interpreted by Merrill, as she reflects the innocence of the betrayed lover who still loves and needs the betrayer and therefore chooses to accept betrayal. When Merrill sings, "You're my joy--and pain," no listener can fail to be moved. Clifford Brown's solo, though more assertive in mood than Merrill, adds to the drama. Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," more upbeat, is classic Merrill, the beautiful lyrics gaining the full romantic treatment, sometimes whispery, with Jimmy Jones's piano in the background and brushwork by drummer Osie Johnson before Brown enters for his solo.
"What's New" by Johnny Mercer receives a slower treatment than usual, Merrill singing in a pensive mood as she reminisces about the past and provides jazz variations to the melodic line. Brown's stellar solo is jazzier, more upbeat and full of improvisation. "Falling in Love With Love," another of Merrill's famous songs, also features a jazz cello by Oscar Pettiford, while the mournful "Yesterdays" is full of vocal variations and jazz improvisation by Brown. "'S Wonderful," the fastest paced, most upbeat song on the album also features fascinating instrumentation, with lots of fast brushwork, a guitar solo, and Brown's trumpet exploring the full range of the instrument.
Youthful, with an innocent, honest sound, Merrill is no newcomer, having sung professionally since she was fifteen, but here she is at her early best-still having the freshness of youth while having achieved the skills to control her voice and set the pace and mood for the instrumentation in this fantastic album, which features Brown just eighteen months before his death.
SONGS
1. Don't Explain
2. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
3. What's New
4. Falling in Love With Love
5. Yesterdays
6. Born to Be Blue
7. 'S Wonderful
A NOTE ON PACKING & POSTAGE
* Australia Post does not provide a Tracking No. system as other some countries have in place and therefore this item will be sent by Registered Mail. Insurance is also available for most bidders outside of Australia (some countries are excluded) at an additional cost of US$8.00.
* All care is taken in packing your item safely & professionally however I cannot accept responsibility for any item delayed, lost or damaged in the post.
* Registered Post both for within Australia and Overseas mail on this particular item is compulsory with total shipping costs as follows :
SHIPPING COSTS
* Registered Air-Mail outside of Australia is :
USD$20.00 to USA / Canada
USD$23.00 to UK / Europe / Sth America
USD$18.00 to JAPAN / Asia
* Packaging and ‘registered postage’ within AUSTRALIA for this item is :
USD$8.50 or AUD$10.50
PAYMENT
* AUSTRALIA
Direct Deposit (preferred)
Paypal
Cheque
* OVERSEAS
Paypal
Auction winners are free to use E-Bay check-out and pay immediately. Otherwise please allow 24 hours from the time auction closes for me to e-mail confirmation advice and payment information.
P.S.
* All vinyl listed on auction has been cleaned, played and visually inspected so that you may bid with confidence. Albums are sent with the record outside of the cover and placed in an outer plastic sleeve (to prevent ring-wear) before safely packed.
* Multiple items won will be combined to save on postage
* Every care is taken to pack items securely for safe and speedy arrival.
* ENQUIRIES ARE WELCOME AT ANYTIME HOWEVER PLEASE ALLOW 24 HOURS FOR A RESPONSE.
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