by Scott YanowSinger 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.