Carol Lou Woodward

American jazz pianist who headed The Carol Lou Trio, 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. Her 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 1956-1957. 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 recording, including the first by Louis Armstrong. In 2013 Woodward recorded an album for the Starr-Gennett Foundation, 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, Christmas With Carol Lou. John Hedges died in October 2012. Carol Lou retired in 2016. Link to Wikipedia biography