Search - Carol Sloane :: I Never Went Away

The greatest ballad singer around today...

Aaron B. | u.s.a. | 04/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Carol Sloane is one of the greatest jazz ballad singers around today, she doesn't have to scat to improvise(not that she can't, she just doesn't very often), however she does take one number very hot on this gem of a cd, Ellington's "Cotton Tail" which she does as a vocalese(yes, the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross version). Most of the tunes are taken at slower tempos which is fine with me, for no other singer makes ballad tempo songs sound so interesting, and full of so much variety, particularaly "I'll Buy You A Star",&"I Never Went Away", although this cd is a classic all the way through, there are no duds here. So support one of our last great jazz balladeers and you'll be doing yourself a favor too!"

Almost perfect

Josef Johns | Rochester, New York United States | 03/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In a bad and crazy world, the voice of Carol Sloane is the ideal antidote to every sort of anxiety. She is simply the finest singer of ballads today. The album opens with the beautifully understated "I See A Million People", with guitar accompaniement
by Paul Bollenback. There are sweet surprises like the rarely heard Billy Strayhorn tune"Maybe", and a song callled You're Not So Easy to Forget" with its alluring verse intact. Invariably the arrangements for voice and guitar are the most succesful. I was eager to hear what Carol would do with Bart Howard's wistful "I'llBe Easy To Find", but pianist Norman Simmons' wayward accompaniment put a dent in the proceedings--indeed his piano on Deep Purple and I Never Went Away seemed to put Carol Sloane at a disadvantage. In the past she has been supported by pianist Mike Rienzi (Romantic Ellington) or the brilliant young Bill Charlap, so maybe it's a simple case of a listener being spoiled by perfection."