Carol Sloane

This release both is and, in a sense, isn't a tribute to the mighty and lovable Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. As far as the repertoire goes, of course, these songs were associated with Ella and Louis in their separate and joint projects. But Carol Sloane and Clark Terry are definitely not imitators of anybody; it is their inimitable styles, mannerisms, lyrical bents, and distinctive senses of humor that make this disc happen. Terry's slippery trumpet slides and bounces over the notes in a completely different manner than Armstrong, and he displays just as much personality in doing so. You also hear much more of Terry's actual singing than usual (as opposed to his mumbles act on "Stompin' at the Savoy"), breezy and full of jive. Carol Sloane is closer to Shirley Horn in soft-focused tone than she is to Ella, and she makes a fine dusky-voiced foil for Terry's talking horn obligatos. With only the backing of a piano trio, this is as relaxed and ingratiating a set in its own way as the first Ella/Louis albums on Verve were, evoking the atmosphere, if not the actual sound, of a 1950s Norman Granz production. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide