Widely considered a gifted musician, compared to the likes of Art Farmer and Kenny Dorham, Sleet had a short career as a result of his drug abuse, recording only one album as a leader.
In addition, he studied with Shorty Rogers in Los Angeles, where he became a member of Terry Gibbs's big band.
[2][4] In October 1960, Sleet went to New York with The Four Souls to record their second and final album, Eastern Lights, supervised by Ornette Coleman.
[6] AllMusic's Alex Henderson described the album as a "fine hard bop date" where Sleet "shows himself to be a captivating soloist".
[2] He would subsequently join the Synanon drug rehabilitation program, but for the rest of his career he would only sporadically play gigs.