Considered by some to be the best of the '70s cabaret jazz singers, Irene Kral, sister of Roy Kral of the cabaret duo Jackie & Roy, began her career with Maynard Ferguson's band in the late '50s. Despite that and other big band associations early on, Kral is noted for her keen and intelligent interpretations of ballads, similar in tone to that of her main influence, Carmen McRae. She pursued a moderately successful solo career throughout the '60s and '70s, recording independent albums like WHERE IS LOVE?, a superior piano-accompanied set of ballads from 1975, and KRAL SPACE, which appeared in 1977 on the Catalyst label. The following year, Kral died at the age of 46 after a prolonged battle with lung cancer.