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Carol Sloane, I Never Went Away |
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JazzTimes, March 2002 |
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When I heard the title of CAROL SLOANE'S latest, I NEVER WENT AWAY (High Note HCD 7085), I expected another of those bitter, 'dammit-I'm-still-here" collections that more mature singers are so fond of creating. Mature it is, but only in the best sense of the word. Mellow and self-assured, it is her finest outing in years. Opting primarily for lesser-known delights from the likes of Bart Howard, Richard Rodney Bennett and Dorothy Fields, Sloane takes things at a luxurious clip. She leans into Billy Strayhorn's "Maybe" with wicked playfulness, genuflects to Sarah Vaughan with a rich, full-bodied "Deep Purple", and ably demonstrates that misty laments like "You're Not So Easy To Forget" are sometimes best served with a spoonful of sugar." |