Carol Sloane

Carol Sloane (born Carol Morvan; March 5, 1937 – January 23, 2023) was an American singer. She was described by critics as being one of jazz music's most underrated singers and was considered a successor to her predecessor, Ella Fitzgerald.

Sloane became interested in jazz listening to the radio as a teenager and started performing with a big band at age 14. She then joined Larry Elgart's orchestra in 1958 where she toured across the US and occasionally recorded. A performance at the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival was heard by Columbia Records who signed her to a contract the same year. The label released two albums of jazz material by Sloane: Out of the Blue (1962) and Carol Sloane Live at 30th Street (1963). She also made regular television appearances on television programs like The Steve Allen Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Her recording career waned as the decade progressed and she was dropped from Columbia by the mid 1960s.

Sloane had to take jobs outside of music to make ends meet but eventually returned to jazz after Japan rediscovered her. In the 1970s and 1980s, she made roughly ten albums for Japanese labels such as Sophisticated Lady (1977), Carol Sings (1979) and As Time Goes By (1982). She also lived in North Carolina during this time where she headlined routinely at the Frog and Nightgown club. However, Sloane was struggling financially again by the mid 1980s. She was then heard by singer Helen Keane who helped her sign with the US company, Contemporary Records where she recorded two albums, beginning with Love You Madly (1989). More albums were issued by Concord Jazz in the 1990s that brought renewed interest to her career and critical acclaim. Sloane continued recording and performing into the 2010s. Following her death, a documentary profiling her career was released titled Sloane: A Jazz Singer (2023).

Early life Carol Morvan was born on March 5, 1937 in Providence, Rhode Island to Frank and Claudia (Rainville) Morvan. Morvan and her eldest sister, Lois, were raised in the Providence suburb of Georgiaville. Her family played music and enjoyed singing together. Raised a Catholic, Morvan's earliest musical experiences included singing in the church choir with her family. She also attended Catholic School in her elementary years where she was taught by nuns to be "a good girl", according to Morvan. Around age 12, her parents bought her a radio where she heard early rock and roll during the day time and jazz at night time.

At age 14, she obtained a job singing twice a week with local bandleader, Ed Drew. The group performed at the Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet Ballroom in Cranston, Rhode Island where she was paid $9 per gig and performed under the name, Carol Van. In high school, she also worked as a secretary and a babysitter. One of her babysitting clients was local songwriter, Jim Howe, who had co-written the song "So Long". She traveled to New York City where she recorded his composition. She wanted to sing "Little Girl Blue", but the festival's pianist did not know the verse. Sloane instead sang it acapella, beginning with the 1962 LP, Out of the Blue. Out of the Blue received critical acclaim, Her second Columbia LP was Carol Sloane Live at 30th Street, titled for its recording sessions that were held at New York City's 30th Street studios. It was named Cash Box magazine's "Jazz Picks of the Week" on January 19, 1963 and was rated three out five stars by AllMusic. She also recorded a live album in 1964,

Sloane's career got further exposure on television during this period Sloane also held concerts at night clubs like San Francisco's the Hungry I, Chicago's Mister Kelly's and New York City's The Blue Angel. along with comedians like Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor.

1965–1985: Career setbacks and recordings in Japan In 1965, Sloane's career was given a second go-round at Columbia. This time, she was pushed in a pop marketing direction that drew inspiration from the careers of Edyie Gorme and Peggy Lee. The 1965 single, "Music" (produced by John Simon and Ernie Altschuler), received some airplay on US top 40 radio, according to Billboard. She was ultimately dropped from Columbia's roster, Despite this, Sloane was just making ends meet and returned to secretarial work in New York to pay her bills. In 1969, an agent contacted Sloane and coaxed her into moving to Raleigh, North Carolina to work at The Frog and Nightgown jazz club. In 1977, the Japanese Trio label issued her first studio LP in over a decade titled Sophisticated Lady. The album was a collection of Duke Ellington tunes and would be one of several she recorded in tribute to him. When asked about Japan's jazz inclusiveness, Sloane told The Washington Post, "Possibly the reason that country is so damn successful in what it does is because they're so open to everything," Sloane told The Washington Post in 1984.

Sloane made roughly ten albums in Japan and they mostly featured American jazz players. Following the Trio album came the LOBster-issued Spring Is Here (1977) and the Nadja-issued Cottontail (1978). The latter was reissued by the US-based Choice label and was given a mixed review by Cash Box in 1980: "Although it sounds like it was recorded in her living room, the latest by singer Sloane is a joy." The American-based Progressive Records released Carol Sings in 1980. Sloane moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1981 where she booked jazz acts like Helen Merrill, George Shearing and Carmen McRae. and 1984's Three Pearls (released by Eastworld that also featured Chris Connor and Ernestine Anderson). Despite a continued output of material, Sloane's albums yielded limited sales figures. Combining American standards with lesser-known songs, both albums were met with critical acclaim and reignited her career in jazz. It was followed by the similarly-themed studio releases Sweet & Slow (1993) and When I Look in Your Eyes (1994). Critics praised Sloane on the three discs for not over-singing any of the tracks and including more obscure American songbook selections.

The death of Carmen McRae (a mentor and friend of Sloane's) inspired Sloane to record a tribute album in memory of her The songs chosen for the album included some of McRae's signature tunes and personal favorites of hers. Sloane's Japanese fans then coaxed her into recording a tribute disc of Frank Sinatra's music and the result was 1996's The Songs Sinatra Sang. Sloane then collaborated with flugelhorn player, Clark Terry, on The Songs Ella & Louis Sang, a tribute album inspired by the duets between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. All three tribute discs were praised for their musicianship and for the individuality brought to each song to make them sound different from the originals. Her final album of the decade was a second Ellington tribute issued by DRG Records called Romantic Ellington (1999).

Sloane continued appearing at clubs and performing into the 2000s. Highlights included New York concert dates at the Algonquin Hotel (where she previewed the 2001 High-Note album, I Never Went Away), the Village Vanguard and the Frederick P. Rose Hall. The HighNote label released Sloane's next album in 2003 titled Whisper Sweet, an 11-track selection of ballads. She then collaborated with instrumentalists Ken Peplowski and Brad Hatfield on a third Ellington album titled Dearest Duke (released by Arbors Records in 2007). The same label issued her next album in 2010 titled We'll Meet Again, a 13-track collection of lesser-remembered American standards. She semi-retired to care for her husband but returned to performing after his death in 2014.

Personal life and death Sloane had two marriages and one long-term relationship during her lifetime. In 1955, she wed New England disc jockey, Charlie Jefferds. In a 2009 interview with JazzWax, Sloane credited Jefferds with getting her familiar with producing a radio show. The couple lived in Colorado and Germany during their marriage. When the couple returned from living in Germany in 1958, they both agreed to a divorce. "We realized we wanted different things out of life," she recalled. Although they were romantically-involved for three years, their relationship was often stormy due to Rowles's battle with alcoholism. The couple lived in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Spurr was plagued by a series of health problems, beginning with a heart attack six months after their wedding. Making a full recovery, he later went through two rounds of colon cancer. In his final years, Spurr was diagnosed with dementia and Sloane became his full-time caretaker Critics have also described Sloane's voice in various ways. Penelope Green of The New York Times characterized Sloane as a "honey-voiced jazz singer"

In her teenage years, Sloane listened to jazz on late night radio shows

Legacy Writers like Scott Yanow have described Sloane as one of jazz's most "underrated" vocalists. Matt Schudel of The Washington Post wrote, "If Carol Sloane isn't America's greatest living jazz singer, then no one deserves the title." Her music has influenced other jazz singers including Catherine Russell, who commented in her documentary, "Carol Sloane is right in there with everybody you need to hear".

Discography

Studio albums Out of the Blue (1962) Carol Sloane Live at 30th Street (1963) Sophisticated Lady (1977) Three Pearls (1984) Early Hours (1987) Love You Madly (1989) The Real Thing (1990) Heart's Desire (1992) Sweet & Slow (1993) When I Look in Your Eyes (1994) The Songs Carmen Sang (1995) The Songs Sinatra Sang (1996) The Songs Ella & Louis Sang (1997) Romantic Ellington (1999) I Never Went Away (2001) Whisper Sweet (2003) Dearest Duke (2007) We'll Meet Again (2010)