Although she has not recorded enough (and there are long gaps between some of her recordings), in the '80s and '90s Carla White emerged as one of the better jazz singers. Raised in New York, her original goal was to be an improvising jazz dancer. However, in high school she started singing and becoming involved in acting. After spending two years at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London (1969-1971) and some time traveling overseas, White studied with Lennie Tristano for four years and later with Warne Marsh. In the late '70s she started collaborating with trumpeter Manny Duran, co-leading a band and recording for Stash. An expert scat singer, White started concentrating more on interpreting lyrics by the time she recorded two albums for Milestone, and her 1991 Evidence set is one of her best to date. In 2000 another impressive release was put out by the Japanese label DIW, The Sweetest Sounds Carla White. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi