Born on 15th March 1947 in Columbus, Georgia, U.S.A., Sarah Jean Perkins is more commonly known as Jean Carne. Raised in Atlanta and with her roots being in jazz, Carne learned to play almost every instrument in the orchestra. Her recording career began in 1971, with her pianist husband Doug Carne. Together from their Californian base they made three albums for Ovation Records that brought widespread recognition. A fourth album ‘Higher Ground’ was put together featuring the best tracks of the previous three.
At this stage Jean was often praised for being one of the first Afro-American women to define her own voice and image, rather than being moulded by the industry.
Jean performed with Duke Ellington, the last vocalist to do so just before his death. Continuing to perform at various nightclubs she was spotted by producer Norman Connors. She now teamed up with Norman for four highly acclaimed albums. Signing to Philadelphia International Records around 1976 she recorded four more albums and probably her best to date.
In 1982 she worked with Norman Connors again on her Motown album ‘Trust Me’. Al Johnson with whom she recorded the classic duet ‘I’m Back For More’ in 1980 incidentally wrote the track ‘Trust Me’.
In 1986 Jean scored a record deal for Omni / Atlantic Records. Here she recorded the brilliant albums ‘Closer Than Close’ and ‘You’re a Part Of Me’ including the fantastic tracks ‘Heartache’ and ‘Early Morning Love’.
By 1995 Jean hard teamed up with Expansion Records to record the album ˜Love Lessons™.
In 2002, Jean toured the U.K. with her Musical Director Nathan Heathman with appearances at the London Jazz Cafe in March of that year.
2003 saw the release of ‘Collaborations’, an album again for Expansion Records that featured Jean’s various musical collaborations over the years.
She continues to tour for six months every year, spending the rest of her time at home in Atlanta with her three children.