Carol Lou Trio


The Carol Lou Trio was a jazz combo which gained modest popularity in the mid-eastern United States between the 1950s and 1970s, and international distribution of its few recordings. The group was headed by Carol Lou Hedges, whose modest demeanor belied her piano virtuosity and swinging style. Husband and bassist John Hedges was the other permanent member of the group, with various drummers having been employed, including future drummer for the Count Basie band and Tony Bennett, Harold Jones in 1956–57. The trio's reputation spread mostly by word of mouth, but it did release several singles and one album.
Having remarried, Carol Lou Woodward continued to play as a soloist and in small combos in and around her home since 1957, Richmond, Indiana, where Gennett Records produced important early jazz recordings, including the first by Louis Armstrong. In 2013 Woodward recorded an album for the Starr-Gennett Foundation called “Rags to Richmond: A Tribute to Ragtime and Starr Piano.” The album includes three compositions by erstwhile Richmond resident May Aufderheide, a leading female ragtime composer.
In 2006, Woodward released a CD featuring solo piano arrangements of jazz and popular music standards, "An Evening With Carol Lou". In 2008 she released a holiday collection titled “Christmas 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.
John Hedges died in October, 2012.
Now in her nineties, Carol Lou is a weekly entertainer at Saigon Paris Bistro, in Fort Myers, Florida.

Discography

;The Carol Lou Trio
Album

The Carol Lou Trio and Geneta Kern

Painting The Town 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, vocals.
Singles
  1. "Soft Summer Breeze" /Canadian Sunset Juke JB2013A; "After Hours" Juke JB2013B
  2. "T.D. Boogie Woogie" Juke JB 2022A; "Lullaby of Birdland" Juke JB2022B
  3. "Big Noise From Winnetka" Juke JB20021A; "When I Fall in Love" Juke JB20021B
;Carol Lou Woodward
An Evening With Carol Lou
  1. "I Got Rhythm"
  2. "Someone to Watch Over Me"
  3. "Rhapsody in Blue"
  4. "Embraceable You"
  5. "12th Street Rag"
  6. "Just Squeeze Me"
  7. "Spring is Here"/"It Might as Well Be Spring"
  8. "Stardust"
  9. "Kitten on the Keys"
  10. "Quiet Nights"/"How Insensitive"
  11. "Linus and Lucy"
  12. "That's All"
Christmas with Carol Lou
  1. "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"
  2. "Jingle Bell Rock"
  3. "Invention In F Major" and "We Need A Little Christmas"
  4. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
  5. "Winter Wonderland"
  6. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
  7. "We Wish You The Merriest"
  8. "Snowfall"
  9. "Sleigh Ride"
  10. "Have A Merry Merry Merry Christmas"
  11. Medley: "In The Bleak Of Winter", "Bring A Torch", "The Holly And Ivy"
  12. "Christmas Time Is Here"
  13. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
Personnel: Carol Lou Woodward, piano; Greg Hedges, bass
Rags to Richmond: A Tribute to Ragtime and Starr Piano
  1. "A Totally Different Rag"
  2. "Boyer Street Rag"
  3. " Chicago Blues"
  4. "Echoes From the Snowball Club"
  5. "Encore Rag"
  6. "Extroversion"
  7. "Felix Rag"
  8. "Hoosier Rag"
  9. "Jungle Time Rag"
  10. "Kitten on the Keys"
  11. "Majestic Rag"
  12. "Prosperity Rag"
  13. "The Thriller!"