The Nearness of You (Helen Merrill album)
Encyclopedia
Track listing
- "Bye Bye BlackbirdBye Bye Blackbird"Bye, Bye, Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926.- Song information :...
" (Mort DixonMort Dixon-Biography:Born in New York, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published effort, 1923's "That Old Gang of Mine". His chief composer collaborators were Ray Henderson, Harry Warren, Harry M...
, Al HendersonAl HendersonAl Henderson is a retired Trinidad soccer forward who played two seasons in the North American Soccer League.Henderson attended high school at St. Mary’s College in Trinidad. He then attended Howard University where he was a 1970 and 1971...
) - 2:57 - "When the Sun Comes OutWhen the Sun Comes Out"When the Sun Comes Out" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler, in 1941. It was introduced in 1941 by Helen O'Connell with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.-Barbra Streisand Recording:...
" (Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Ted KoehlerTed KoehlerTed L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
) - 4:47 - "I Remember YouI Remember You (1941 song)"I Remember You" is a popular song. The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941.The song was one of several introduced in the movie The Fleet's In...
" (Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, Victor SchertzingerVictor SchertzingerVictor L. Schertzinger was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include Paramount on Parade , Something to Sing About with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar...
) - 2:11 - "Softly, as in a Morning SunriseSoftly, As in a Morning Sunrise"Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" is a song with music by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II from the 1928 operetta The New Moon. One of the best-known numbers from the show, it is a song of bitterness and yearning for a lost love, sung in the show by Philippe , the best friend of the hero,...
" (Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, Sigmund RombergSigmund RombergSigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
) - 3:19 - "Dearly Beloved" (Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Mercer) - 2:07 - "SummertimeSummertime (song)"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP....
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
, DuBose HeywardDuBose HeywardEdwin DuBose Heyward was a white American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. This novel was the basis for the play by the same name and, in turn, the opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin.-Life and career:Heyward was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina and was a...
) - 3:28 - "All of YouAll of You"All of You" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1954.It was featured in the musical film Silk Stockings and been recorded by Fred Astaire, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald on her 1972 album: Ella Loves Cole, Billie Holiday, Tony Martin, and Anita O'Day.The jazz pianist Bill Evans...
" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) - 3:33 - "I See Your Face Before Me" (Howard DietzHoward DietzHoward Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...
, Arthur SchwartzArthur SchwartzArthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
) - 2:39 - "Let Me Love You" (Harlan HowardHarlan HowardHarlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...
) - 2:48 - "The Nearness of YouThe Nearness of You"The Nearness of You" is a popular song, written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington.The biggest selling 1938 version was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with a vocal by Ray Eberle...
" (Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
) - 4:06 - "This Time the Dream's on MeThis Time the Dream's on Me"This Time the Dream's on Me" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1941 film Blues in the Night.-Notable recordings:*Chet Baker *June Christy - Something Cool *Harry Connick Jr....
" (Arlen, Mercer) - 2:21 - "Just Imagine" (Lew BrownLew BrownLew Brown was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States.Brown was born as Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russian Empire...
, Buddy DeSylva, Henderson) - 3:21
Reception
John Bush of Allmusic said that "Alternately breathy and atmospheric or bright and dynamic, Helen Merrill often reaches a bit too far on The Nearness of You, though her distinct style and strong personality may be refreshing to vocal fans tired of the standard versions of standards...Her powerful voice occasionally gets her into trouble, breaking from breathy to brash and often occupying a rather awkward middle ground.".Personnel
Tracks: 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 08, 11:- 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... - Mike Simpson - fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Dick MarxDick MarxDick Marx was an American jazz pianist and arranger. He also composed for film, television, and commercials.-Personal:...
- 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... - Fred Rundquist - 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...
- Johnny FrigoJohnny FrigoJohnny Frigo was an American jazz violinist and bassist.His son, Derek John Frigo, was the lead guitarist for the rock band Enuff Z'nuff. Derek Frigo died of a drug overdose on May 28, 2004....
- 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... - Jerry Slosberg - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- David CarrollDavid Carroll (musician)David Carroll was a studio arranger, conductor, and musical director....
- 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...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Tracks: 02, 07, 09, 10, 12:
- Helen Merrill - vocals
- Oscar PettifordOscar PettifordOscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop.-Biography:...
- double bass - Bobby JasparBobby JasparBobby Jaspar was a cool jazz and hard bop saxophonist, flautist and composer born in Liège, Belgium. He was married to the jazz singer Blossom Dearie....
- flute - Bill EvansBill EvansWilliam John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
- piano - George Russell - guitar
- Jo JonesJo JonesJo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...
- drums - Hal MooneyHal MooneyHal Mooney was an American composer and arranger, born Harold Mooney on 4 February 1911, in Brooklyn, New York. He died on 23 March 1995, in Los Angeles, California.-Early life and career:...
- arranger, conductor