Jelena Ana Milcactic a.k.a. Helen Merrill
Encyclopedia
The Allmusic review by Alex Henderson awarded the album four and a half stars and said it was a "Helen Merrill has never been afraid to take chances, but the veteran jazz singer is especially ambitious on Jelena Ana Milcetic, an autobiographical (or at least semi-autobiographical) work that draws on jazz, pop, and folk as well as traditional Croatian music...But as unpredictable and eclectic as this album is, the CD never sounds confused or aimless...everything fits together perfectly. Jelena Ana Milcetic is among Merrill's most impressive accomplishments".
Track listing
- "Kirje" - 3:15
- "Imagining KRK" - 2:15
- "Long, Long Ago" (Thomas Haynes BaylyThomas Haynes BaylyThomas Haynes Bayly was an English poet, songwriter, dramatist, and miscellaneous writer.The son of a wealthy lawyer in Bath, Bayly intended to become an attorney like his father, but he changed his mind and thought of entering the church, but he abandoned this idea also and gave himself to...
) - 4:35 - "My Father" - 7:18
- "La PalomaLa PalomaThis article is about the song. For the American city, see La Paloma, Texas."La Paloma" is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by Spanish composer Sebastián...
" (Sebastián IradierSebastián IradierSebastián Iradier Salaverri , a.k.a. Sebastián Yradier, was a Spanish Basque composer.Iradier was born in Lanciego, in the province of Álava. His publisher in Paris urged him to "universalize" his name, from Iradier to Yradier...
) - 5:57 - "Tanac" (TraditionalTraditional musicTraditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
) - 1:41 - "Wayfarin' Stranger" (Traditional) - 4:26
- "I'll Take You Home Again, KathleenI'll Take You Home Again, KathleenI'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen is a popular song written by Thomas P. Westendorf in 1875. In spite of its American origins, it is known and revered as an Irish ballad. Westendorf, a school teacher in Plainfield, Indiana, wrote it for his wife...
" (Thomas P. Westendorf) - 5:30 - "Lost in the StarsLost in the StarsLost in the Stars is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton...
" (Kurt WeillKurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, Maxwell AndersonMaxwell AndersonJames Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
) - 5:19 - "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless ChildSometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" is a traditional Negro spiritual.The song dates back to the era of slavery in the United States when it was common practice to sell children of slaves away from their parents. An early performance of the song dates back to the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee...
" (Traditional) - 5:36 - "Among My SouvenirsAmong My Souvenirs"Among My Souvenirs" is a 1927 song with words written by Edgar Leslie and lyrics by Lawrence Wright.-Original version:"Among My Souvenirs" was first a number one hit for Paul Whiteman in 1928...
" (Edgar LeslieEdgar LeslieEdgar Leslie was an American songwriter. His first song Lonesome in 1909 was an immediate success, recorded by the Haydn Quartet and again by Byron G. Harlan. Other notable artists he worked with are:...
, Lawrence WrightLawrence Wright (composer)Lawrence Wright was a British popular music composer and publisher. He was born in Leicester and opened a music shop in the city in 1906...
) - 3:47 - "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've SeenNobody Knows the Trouble I've SeenNobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen is a spiritual. The song is well known and many cover versions of it have been produced, although the rendition by Louis Armstrong is the best known. Marian Anderson had her first successful recording with a version of this song on the Victor label in 1925. Lena...
" (Traditional) - 2:33 - "Ti Si Rajski Cvijet (You Are a Flower from Paradise)" - 1:01
Personnel
- Helen MerrillHelen MerrillHelen Merrill is an internationally known jazz vocalist.Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy as well as in her native United States...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Dominic Cortese - accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
- Gil GoldsteinGil GoldsteinGil Goldstein is American jazz pianist and synthesizer player who started on the accordion.He began studying accordion at age 5, but later moved on to cello and piano. He studied at the Berklee College of Music and by 1973 was working with Pat Martino, Lee Konitz, and others. He started with the...
- accordion, arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Torrie ZitoTorrie ZitoTorrie Zito was an American pianist, music arranger, composer and conductor.He worked with many recording artists of note, including Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Perry Como, Billy Eckstine, Herbie Mann, Steve Lawrence, Edie Gorme, Nana Mouskouri, Bobby Short, Marvin Hamlish, Roberto Carlos, Sinead...
- arranger, conductor, fender rhodes - Jesse Levy - celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Frank Zuback - conductor
- George MrazGeorge MrazGeorge Mraz is a jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and has worked with Stan Getz, Tommy Flanagan, Chet Baker and many other important jazz musicians...
- double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Jeff Mironov - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Gloria Agostini - harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
- Dennis Anderson - english horn, oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- Steve Kroon - percussion
- Roland HannaRoland HannaRoland Hanna was an American Jazz pianist.Hanna studied classical piano as a boy, but was strongly interested in jazz. This increased after his time in military service.He studied at Eastman School of Music and Juilliard School...
- piano - Steve LacySteve LacySteve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
- soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...