Jazz / Vocal, Bop, Standards, Vocal Jazz
Carol Sloane - Vocals, Liner Notes
Alan Nahigian Photography
Bill Easley Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Don Sickler Producer
Joe Fields Executive Producer
Kenny Washington Drums
Manfred Knoop Engineer
Norman Simmons Arranger, Piano
Paul Bollenback Guitar
Steve LaSpina Bass
The term "Singer's Singer" is as meaningless as it is over-used. Carol Sloane, on the other hand, is a "musician's singer" - one who possesses superb innate musicianship and a voice unmatched for sheer tonal beauty. Her unparalled technique allows her to interpret the lyrics of a song by allowing the shape of the vocal line, be it the written one or her own extemporization, underline the true emotional content. Jon Hendricks knew it when he asked her to sing at the Newport Jazz Festival. Entrepreneur Max Gordon knew it when he asked her to open for Oscar Peterson. Discover it for yourself now with Carol's first record for her new musical home, HighNote Records. Superbly accompanied by Norman Simmons, who knows perhaps better than anyone on the scene today which substitutions to lay down to support a singer's musical conception, and the filigree reed-work of Bill Easley, Carol offers eleven tunes - some thrice familiar, some rarely-heard gems. What all the tunes have in common is the fact they all take on new life and meaning from the Carol Sloane treatment.
Carol Sloane
Active Decades: '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s
Born: 1937 in Providence, RI
Genre: Vocal
Styles: Bop, Standards, Vocal Jazz
Singer Carol Sloane started singing professionally when she was 14 and at 18 she toured Germany in a musical comedy. She was with the Les and Larry Elgart orchestra during 1958-1960 and, after appearing at a jazz festival in 1960, she was heard by Jon Hendricks who later sent for her to sub for Annie Ross with Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Sloane made a big impression at the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival and soon cut two records for Columbia. Unfortunately, her career never got going and, except for a live set from 1964 released on Honey Dew, Sloane would not record again until 1977, working as a secretary in North Carolina and singing just now and then locally.
However, in the mid-'70s she became more active again, caught on in Japan (where she began to record frequently), and her career finally got on more solid footing. Sloane's releases for Audiophile, Choice, Progressive, Contemporary, and later Concord feature a mature bop-based singer with a sound of her own.
--- Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
