This isn't groundbreaking stuff -- just really good songs sung by a really good singer. Free of pretension and affectation, Jane is nonetheless more accomplished and skillful than a first listen (or a first look at her album covers) might indicate. This is easy listening music in the best sense of the word.
Jane Monheit is one of the few jazz vocalists who don't make me cringe from excessive affectation. Her sound is clear and her singing is obviously heartfelt. I love to hear her sing.
My credentials, professional Trombonist US Army's Top Jazz Band and a Master's Degree in Music, used to be a Yamaha artist/clinician but I now represent Kanstul trombones-- SlideAdams dot com. I've seen Jane live and own all of Jane's recordings and have to disagree with the previous reviewer's statement regarding her improvisations. Jane is steeped in the tradition of female-vocalist improvisers and she proves it every time she strays from a written melody. Prior to her recording career she was runner-up at the presitgious Thelonius Monk vocal competition (Another famous runner-up in said competition was none other than Harry Connick Jr.) I'm positive that like most pro-jazzers, Jane can scat along with every last one of the recordings in her collection and probably every single recorded scat solo by Sarah, Ella and any other famous vocal improviser of year's past. She knows where the art has been and knows where she is going with it.
This summarises Jane Monheit's recording career to date. Although there are touches of Streisand and Krall to the sound she does have a distinct clear and beautiful voice. Bringing a range of emotion and sound to her singing the limiting factor is the tendancy towards easy listening and the traditional and conservative modern jazz trio backing to most tracks. Her singing is at its purest and most beautiful with just a piano accompaniment as on the introduction to several songs including Over the Rainbow and Folks Who Live On The Hill. In the limited areas where she does attempt to improvise this isnt very good and detracts from the music. Good overall listening but I look forward to something with more of a raw edge in the future.
