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 from 1958 to 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, instead 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. Carol Sloane died on January 23, 2023 at a senior care facility in Stoneham, MA due to complications from a stoke she'd suffered two years earlier. She was 85 years of age. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi