Helen Merrill - Great Women Of Song: Helen Merrill - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2024 collection. Known internationally as InchThe First Lady of SongInch, Ella Fitzgerald was also, importantly, the first lady of Verve Records-the tag that was essentially created for her by her manager and the tag's founder, Norman Granz. This collection brings together Ella's most cherished recordings in the company of American music's greatest performers and composers-Louis Armstrong, George & Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, among many others.

Verve Records releases the latest editions in it's breakout Great Women of Song series, which pays homage to the ground-breaking work and lasting impact of some of the greatest female vocalists of all time. Like her idol Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae could own a ballad and make it all her own. She could also swing every bit as hard as her other main influence, Ella Fitzgerald. Coming up during the bebop era and under the musical sway of Thelonious Monk, Carmen made a series of recordings for the Decca tag that would cement her reputation and launch a career that close to 50 years. Whether in small groups or backed by a studio orchestra, Carmen McRae recorded definitive versions of songs that make up the backbones of jazz and the Great American Songbook.

Shirley Horn's sensitive vocals and sublime yet powerful piano playing attracted the attention of fellow musicians, including early supporter Miles Davis, and numerous in-the-know fans during her decades-long career. This collection of recordings, made for Verve Records during her late-career resurgence, includes performances with small groups and a string orchestra.