Helen Merrill is performing live Sunday in Los Angeles--RARE opportunity!!!

[Allan Songer]

Helen Merrill is my favorite singer. Period. I can't make the argument that she is the "best" jazz singer who ever lived, but she IS my favorite and is without a doubt on the short list of "best" female jazz vocalists. She is performing on Sunday afteroon at the Four Points Sheraton near the LA Airport as part of Ken Poston's "Springville" four-day jazz festival. I was there last night to hear Lee Konitz (among others) and between sets I was just standing in the back of the room when I looked to my left and sitting three feet from me was Helen Merrill. In order for you all to apprecaite how amazing this was for me, just imagine yourself in the same position and YOUR FAVOIRTE LIVING MUSICIAN was just sitting there alone three feet from you! Anyway, I walked over, sat down and introduced myelf and Ms. Merrill and I spent the next 50 minutes talking about everything from her latest recording to 9/11 and Iraq to ELvin Jones' funeral to Maria Schneider to "the Internet." She is in her mid-70's now but she looks terrific and is every bit as genuinely friendly and accomodating as I ever could have hoped.

Anyway, Sunday she will be performing the "Gil Evans charts" written for her 1956 Emarcy LP "Dream of You." This LP is not only one of Helen Merrill's greatest records, it is also one of Gil Evans' best. This was BEFORE the great Miles Davis collaberations and Evans was fairly obscure and Ms. Merrill had to fight Emarcy to allow her to have Evans write the arrangements for this record.

I have about 35 Helen Merrill LPs and perhaps 20 CDs and this is one I pull out at least once or twice a month and have done so for the past 20 years or so.

I know that Chris King is coming on Sunday with his wife and I will be there with my wife as well (she has more than once commented that her husband's heart-throb is is 70-something jazz singer nobody as ever heard of!). I heartily reccomend that any of you here in SoCal who are free Sunday afternoon join us!

[StuDog]

Allan, Do you recommend advanced tickets? Does the place sell out?

[ChrisK]

Allan

I am soooooo upset. I've been volunteered to help chaparone a 10 year old birthday party at the Dodger game Sunday. No way out of it, not to mention I HATE the Doghairs (still love my Giants). Are you going to any of the other events at the festival?

Also, if Allan hasn't already answered, it will not sell out. As of Wednesday, there were tons of tickets left.

Crying,

Chris

PS There is a small up-side to my grief. I've insisted on a stop at Phillipe's on the way to the stadium or I wouldn't go!

[boomac]

I thought the concert was last night. I guess I still have "time to catch a fast plane"! I wish! It would be great to be there and I know you will enjoy it Allan. It'll be nice to hear about the experience.

[Colin]

She was beautiful.

sorry, but I will be out of town this weekend

[Chris Robinson]

Damn, I wished I lived near you. Be there in a heart-beat.

[ben.]

How about a review?

[Allan Songer]

Thrilling. Just to see and hear her. She still has it all EXCEPT for range, but as she said to me on Thursday--"I'm 75 years old--I need to choose my material CAREFULLY--I know I won't be able to pull some of these off." The performance was hit-or-miss--some of the charts she just can't sing any more ("People Will Say We're In Love"), but on others it was spine-tingling ("Dream of You" and "Troubled Waters" especially). In the middle of the set she did a couple of songs with just a quartet and THESE were the highlights for me--Bye Bye Blackbird was so good the place just ERUPTED with spontanious applause. Timing, intonation, improvisation, feeling, swing, she put it all together--made me wish the whole set was with the quartet in some ways.

For a woman now in her late 70's it was a HELL of a performance! This might very well be the last time I'll hear her live and I will treasure the memory.

[boomac]

Holy Cow! What a great Memorial Day Weekend you had Allan.