Album Notes

Sloan Wainwright has been a pioneer all her life. A forerunner in the independent music scene long before it became hip to walk the road less traveled. Sloan is an artist whose passionate work and extraordinary life have fused to burn a new definition for women in music. Grown up girl style. An outstanding and highly original singer, Sloan is a compelling performer best known for her rich contralto voice, intensely personal lyrics, and an innovative approach to song. Hard to categorize, her musical style melds the best of rock, folk, jazz and blues to create a soulful hybrid. Her personal appearances are forceful and uplifting, her stage persona self-described as "we take our audience on a journey, we come in full tilt and do our show."

"Exploring everything from childhood to Sept. 11, the trio delivers songs in what is not only a well-timed display of musical cohesion but also a full-throttle emotional ride."
(The Washington Post)

"...when Wainwright lets loose, no one's music can match hers for sheer liberating gusto."
(Dirty Linen)

Born into a highly acclaimed musical family (youngest sister to Louden Wainwright, auntie to Rufus) Sloan's teenage years were largely influenced by a constant flow of diverse artists, writers and musicians. She learned to play the piano and watched as her brother Louden, 11 years older, and the father of Rufus and Martha, became successful. Writing and performing, throughout the Greenwich Village hipster scene, Sloan developed her own unique style.

In the mid 90's Sloan began to collaborate with guitarist Stephen Murphy. A band was put together and subsequently released a self-titled debut CD in 1996. The CD was a critical success and introduced Sloan to a national audience. The Sloan Wainwright Band followed with a second release in 1998. A tribute in memory of her mother Martha, entitled 'From Where You Are'. The third band release--in early 2001-- 'The Song Inside' is a pivotal work in its merging of traditionally based folk music and more eccentric, creatively evolved variations - sometimes suggesting a stylistic crossroad of Bonnie Raitt and Kate Bush.

Just recently released, the fourth in the series 'Cool Morning' pairs Sloan with a new producer and some wonderful musicians. The most sophisticated of the recordings, with a clear focus on the extraordinary quality of Sloan's voice.

All four releases are sung with a depth that makes the heart ache with recognition and a passion that calls it to rise above.

"a masterful amalgam of folk, rock, jazz, blues and an occasional tincture of funk, discovering her music is like finding a treasure."
(The Boston Globe)

"...(her) thick as molasses voice which gets under your skin in all the right ways."
(Performing Songwriter).

To maintain her own sense of creative diversity, Sloan has written numerous musical compostions for theater and dance (for which she has been the recipient of various grants and awards). Currently, Sloan is composing the music for an upcoming Peter Pucci series of dances. Funded through the award of the Mary Flager American Music Center grant, Sloan will be collaborating with renowned dance master Peter Pucci. Pucci views the new Pucci/Wainwright work as a personal creative challenge, one than can only be attempted after years in the world of dance and theater. Experience put forth into a theatrical event, where Pucci will present himself as creator, collaborator and performer. The original music created by Sloan will be an essential and integral part of the event.

Sloan is an independent artist making grown up girl music in the truest sense - a rare, one of a kind voice that speaks deeply to our humanity and leaves us forever changed.

"Her lyrics are not tough stances on a woman's experience - although she speaks forthrightly of the conflicting roles of women - but rather sensitive explorations of childhood and the poetry of life."
(The New York Times)