Having just begun singing jazz professionally in 1998, Karen Shane is already making her mark with her first album It's Anybody's Spring, issued in the same year. The road which took her to a career in jazz was not always as clearly marked as it is today. Her initial vocalizing efforts began in 1967 when Shane was still in high school. She hooked up with Eric Carmen forming a local group which sang the music of the Beatles, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and other rock heroes of the 1960s generation. Moving to Los Angeles in 1970, she backed up Donna Capers at a local venue, the Troubadour, and did some background vocals. Moving once more, this time in 1984 to New York City, Shane did some character acting with the American Ballet Theatre in some of their large-scale productions. In the late '80s, she returned to the standards she heard when growing up. Her road to jazz eventually took her to Florida where Shane gained further musical experience by performing for the Key Biscayne Music and Drama Club in such musical vehicles as Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance and Rodgers & Hammerstein's A Grand Night for Singing. The 1990s saw her beginning to sing in jazz venues in and around Miami and Ft. Lauderdale as she continued to refine her jazz vocal skills. The results are evident on her first album. Possessing a voice exuding exuberance and confidence, Shane can deliver up tempo numbers with verve and elan and ballads with sensual warmth. She is clearly an artist deserving greater recognition. ~ Dave Nathan, All Music Guide
