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Jazz pianist Carol Lou Woodward, former leader of The Carol Lou Trio. Photo taken in Richmond, Indiana, 2006 by Nicolas S. Martin. Credit appreciated if reused. |
The Carol Lou Trio was a jazz combo which gained modest popularity in the mid-eastern United States during the 1970s, and international distribution of its few recordings. The group was headed by Carol Lou Hedges (b. May 20, 1931, Peru, Indiana), whose modest demeanor belies her piano virtuosity and swinging style. Husband and bassist John Hedges (1928-2102) was the other permanent member of the group. Various drummers were employed, including future jazz luminary Harold Jones in 1956-57, whose resume includes stints with Count Basie and Tony Bennett. The trio's reputation spread mostly by word of mouth, but it did release several singles and an LP in 1967.
Having remarried, Carol Lou Woodward continued to play until her 2016 retirement as a soloist and in small combos in and around her adopted home town from 1957, Richmond, Indiana. In 2006 she released CD featuring solo piano arrangements of jazz and popular music standards, "An Evening With Carol Lou". She has said that her favorite pianist is Gene Harris, whose style has been described as "hard-swinging, soulful, blues-drenched." Woodward's considerable talent might have carried her to greater recognition, but she chose instead to raise a family and live quietly.
Discography
The Carol Lou Trio
Singles (Released in the 1970s)
1. Soft Summer Breeze (Eddie Heywood-Judy Spencer)/Canadian Sunset (Norman Gimbel-Eddie Heywood). Juke JB2013A; After Hours (Erskine Hawkins-Avery Parrish). Juke JB2013B1
2. T.D. Boogie Woogie (Tommy Dorsey). Juke JB 2022A; Lullaby of Birdland (George Shearing). Juke JB2022B
3. Big Noise From Winnetka (Ray Bauduc-Bob Haggart). Juke JB20021A; When I Fall In Love (Edward Heyman-Victor Young). Juke JB20021B
4. Snowfall (Claude Thornhill); Let it Snow (Sammy Cahn-Jule Styne). Juke
LP
The Carol Lou Trio and Geneta Kern
Painting The Town (Parker Records 33-102) 1967
Side 1
Tricky
Little Things Mean A Lot
On Green Dolphin Street
Kansas City
Cast Your Fate To The Wind
I'm Gonna A Build A Mountain
Side 2
Hello Dolly
The In Crowd
If I Should Lose You
Imagination
Big Noise From Winnetka
When I Fall In Love
Personnel:
Carol Lou Hedges, piano; John Hedges, bass; Jim Parker, drums; Geneta Kern (1928-2007), vocals
Carol Lou Woodward
An Evening With Carol Lou (2006, privately-issued CD)
1. I Got Rhythm (George Gershwin)
2. Someone to Watch Over Me (Gershwin)
3. Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)
4. Embraceable You (Gershwin)
5. 12th Street Rag (Euday L. Bowman)
6. Just Squeeze Me (Duke Ellington-Lee Gaines)
7. Spring is Here/It Might As Well Be Spring (Richard Rodgers)
8. Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael)
9. Kitten on the Keys (Zez Confrey)
10. Quiet Nights/How Insensitive (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Norman Gimbel, Mendonca/Jobim, Gimbel, Vinicius de Moraes)
11. Linus and Lucy (Vince Guaraldi)
12. That's All (Alan Brandt-Bob Haymes)
Christmas With Carol Lou (2008, privately-issued CD)
1. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Edward Pola-George Wyle)
2. Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms)
3. Invention In F Major (Bach) and We Need A Little Christmas (Jerry Herman)
4. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Johann Sebastian Bach)
5. Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard-Richard B. Smith)
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Traditional)
7. We Wish You The Merriest (Les Brown)
8. Snowfall (Claude Thornhill)
9. Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson)
10. Have A Merry Merry Merry Christmas
11. Medley: In The Bleak Of Winter (Traditional), Bring A Torch (Traditional and Charpentier), The Holly And Ivy (Traditional)
12. Christmas Time Is Here (Lee Mendelson-Vince Guaraldi)
13. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane)
Rags to Richmond: A Tribute to Ragtime and Starr Piano (2013, Starr-Gennett Foundation, CD)
1. A Totally Different Rag (May Aufderheide)
2. Boyer Street Rag (G. Anderson)
3. (Original) Chicago Blues (J. White)
4. Echoes From the Snowball Club (Harry P. Guy)
5. Encore Rag (T. Fischer)
6. Extroversion (G. Angerson)
7. Felix Rag (H. H. McSkimming)
8. Hoosier Rag (Julia Lee Niebergall)
9. Jungle Time Rag (E. P. Severin)
10. Kitten on the Keys (Zez Confrey)
11. Majestic Rag (B. Rawls and R. Neel)
12. Prosperity Rag (James Scott (composer)
13. Richmond Rag (May Aufderheide)
14. The Thriller! (May Aufderheide)
Note
Composition of "After Hours" is miscredited on the record's label to "Lou Reed," which has led some to mistakenly associate the song and the Carol Lou Trio with rock musician Lou Reed. Collections including the recording are often promoted for sale based on this erroneous association. When asked in 2006, Carol Lou Woodward said she was unfamiliar with any musician or composer named Lou Reed. The actual composers of "After Hours" were Erskine Hawkins and Avery Parrish.
Some of the most important early Jazz recordings were made in Richmond, Indiana, where Carol Lou Woodward has lived for 50 years. At Gennett records such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, and Earl Hines were recorded. The book Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Studios and the Birth of Recorded Jazz chronicles the odd and interesting history of Gennett. At the same time the company was playing host to Jazz greats it was also making recordings for the Ku Klux Klan, which was powerful in Richmond and dominated Indiana's state government.
Links
Carol Lou Woodward photos
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