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 arrangements by
Quincy Jones and marks the introduction of another future star, trumpeter
Clifford Brown. Formidable as his playing is,
Brown never overshadows
Merrill. 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 Tormé's "Born to Be Blue," making the sophisticated tune her own as she revels in
Tormé's down-and-out lyric.