Ann Gilbert first came to notice on Chicago's South Side, issuing a handful of sides in the mid-'50s for Groove, the blues-and-jazz imprint operated by RCA. Her vocal journey had started in church at age four, and by ten she was appearing regularly on the radio show Young America Sings. Stage work followed in summer-stock productions, where she both sang and acted; a classical path seemed likely until jazz intervened. At the time she was enrolled in classical studies at Lindenwood College for Women in St. Charles, Missouri. While there she began to improvise at the piano, gradually favoring free exploration over the strictures of formal training. She started performing in clubs, accompanying herself, and steadily gained attention at venues in both Indianapolis and Chicago. Her recording opportunity arrived in 1956 when a visiting talent scout signed her to Groove Records. The sole album to result, The Many Moods of Ann, featured her with the Elliot Lawrence Orchestra. Elliot Lawrence, serving as pianist and bandleader, supplied the arrangements, while the supporting musicians included Al Cohn on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Harold McKusick on alto saxophone, clarinet, and flute, Sam Marowitz on alto saxophone and clarinet, and Osie Johnson on drums.
