Jane Monheit
I was out running an errand recently with the radio on when I heard a jazz singer performing a sloooow version of “Tea for Two” (of all things); handled with gentle caresses, even this old chestnut took on a new shine, as the tempo forced you to pay attention to the innocence of the lyrics. “Who is this?” I wondered; “She’s pretty good.” It turned out to be Jane Monheit, one of the new generation of jazz vocalists that I’m not familiar with, so I was inspired to go learn more. Here’s what I found out…
Jane Monheit was born in 1977 [How depressing – I graduated high school that year!] in Oakdale, NY on Long Island. She began singing professionally while still in high school; she began to study at the Manhattan School of Music at 17, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in music in 1999. At the age of 20, as a college senior, she was first runner-up at the 1998 Thelonious Monk Institute Vocal Competition.
She is considered by some to be one of the most promising jazz vocalists of her generation, but others consider her more of a cabaret or Broadway style singer and not really a jazz singer at all. (In addition to jazz, she has recorded songs from MGM and RKO 1930s-1950s musicals, and some Latin American songs.) Her classically trained voice has been compared to Ella Fitzgerald, who she considers one of her influences.
Discography (from Wikipedia)
Her debut album Never Never Land was released in October 2000 and became an instant success, remaining on the Billboard Jazz chart for over a year and was voted “Best Debut Recording.” Her second CD album, Come Dream With Me, was released in May 2001, entering the charts at number 1. Her third album In The Sun was released in October 2002.
Her fourth album Live at the Rainbow Room was released in December 2003. A DVD entitled Live at the Rainbow Room was released to complement the CD.
Her fifth album Taking a Chance on Love was released in September 2004. It rose to the number one spot on Billboard’s traditional jazz chart and entered Billboard’s top 100 pop chart the first week it was released. This album included the song “Somewhere over the Rainbow” which was included on the soundtrack for the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
The Taking a Chance on Love DVD was released in March 2005 and contains performances from the Brecon Jazz Festival in Wales, UK. Jane released her sixth album in October 2005; The Season, her first holiday-themed album, debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s jazz chart. Monheit told jazzreview.com it was inspired by Ella Fitzgerald’s “Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas.”
Jane Monheit appeared on the “Legends of Jazz” PBS series; the interview is available at the website for the series. Video of Jane in the studio recording is available at her website. Tour dates from this summer through January 2007 can be found here.
Helping Booman Meet Site Expenses
CabinGirl emailed me this week that she’s going to try to make arrangements for the music featured in Jazz Jam to show up in the ads on the website at the same time – Cool, eh?. Not only does this make it convenient for you, but each purchase helps Booman, too. So if you’re curious about something you see here, click and purchase and help Booman pay the bills.
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