Jazz has been a lifelong passion for Carol Heffler.  Raised in Summit, New Jersey, Carol began singing at an early age and started jazz piano study at the age of 15.  After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Carol formed her first trio and played the club scene in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Boston.  By then she had begun writing songs.

Ms. Heffler earned a Masters in Music Education at Umass Amherst, where she was awarded “Best Female Jazz Vocalist” by the International Association of Jazz Educators.  Her group opened for the Mercer Ellington and Woody Herman orchestras.

In New York City, Carol worked as Music Director for the soap operas “Search for Tomorrow” and “Edge of Night”.  She also performed and collaborated with established songwriter Marilyn Harris.  Carol sang commercials for Nestea, Nestles, Impulse perfume, and Dimension shampoo.  In 1981, her song “Strong Steady Love” was recorded by the Markley Band and recorded on Accord Records.

Carol’s first recording of original songs and jazz, Sea Dreams, was released in 1993.  In 1998, she produced her first CD Pull of the Moon, also featuring originals and covers by songwriters James Taylor, Sade, and Leon Russell.  However it was her CD exactly, released in 2005, that put Carol on the map.  An eclectic mix of jazz standards, bossa novas, and her own songs, this CD has been heard on over one hundred jazz stations worldwide.  New Hope arts magazine “Prime Time” named exactly their “Vocal Jazz Pick” CD of 2006.  Read what the Trenton Times, US Route 1, the Princeton Packet, Cadence magazine and LA Jazz Scene have to say about exactly in the “reviews” section of this website.

Ms. Heffler continues to write and perform in the NJ-NY-PA area.  Her most recent song, a collaboration with Lori Rosolowsky entitled “Don’t Call Me Ma’am”, was performed by the Key of She as well as a local theater group in March 2007.  She lives with her husband Michael in Lambertville, NJ.