Helm's discography includes recordings with Donald Brown, Ron Carter, Stanley Cowell, Antonio Hart, Andrew Hill, Dave Liebman and Branford Marsalis among many others. Ms. Helm has released four recordings as a leader including the critically acclaimed Jazz Week Top 20 titles Precipice and Voice Paintings.
The Butterfly Chronicles: A Story of Transformation
Ms. Helm’s most recent recording, Chronicles of A Butterfly: A Story of Transformation, has taken a new direction unlike that of her previous recordings. It is dedicated to her mentor and collaborator, the award-winning pianist/composer Andrew Hill. The 3-part suite is about transformation – artistry coming to fruition, its participants transformed and includes several jazz standards and original compositions by Helm.
One such original is the bossa nova titled “Hermano Frere,” a composition from a suite about the 9/11 tragedies written and recorded by Andrew Hill for which Helm wrote the lyrics. Ms. Helm also performed the song with Hill during his 2003 Danish Jazzpar Award tour and concert. “’Hermano Frere’ is a song about our responsibilities to each other and Andrew’s many conversations about the wisdom of metamorphosis and transformation in the seasons of our lives was the impetus for the title Chronicles of a Butterfly.”
Helm also sings “Harlem Nocturne,” the Johnny Mercer/Harold Arlen standard titled “Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is Home,” Nina Simone’s “I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl,” and adds her stunning four-octave vocalese to John Coltrane’s spiritual ballad “After The Rain.” “After the Rain is about what happens after the dust settles,” states Helm.
Chronicles of A Butterfly: A Story of Transformation was produced by Grammy-winning artist Branford Marsalis. It features Mulgrew Miller on piano, bassists Neal Caine and John Price, and guitarist Doug Wamble.“I went through a number of changes while working on Chronicles of A Butterfly. It struck me over the five years that I worked on this album that I wanted to wake up,” adds Helm.
The Butterfly Concerts Raise Funds for Families and Communities
In that awakening, Ms. Helm also decided to launch a series of concerts to raise funds for families and communities who have endured recent tragedies or traumas. The concept for The Butterfly Concerts is that of transformation from personal or community tragedies to triumphs, despite profound challenges.
When Ms. Helm is not recording, she is contributing her talents as an educator and member of the Voice and Jazz Studies Programs faculty at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. For more information about Lenora Zenzalai Helm and The Butterfly Concerts, please visit her website at www.lenorahelm.com. Source: Ivye League Entertainment Press Release dated August 27, 2009 for CD Release/Concert Event; Chronicles of A Butterfly: A Story of Transformation liner notes.
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