Jane Monheit In The Sun CD

On this Dualdisc, Jane's songs play up her appeal as a pop vocalist rather than her conservative jazz vocal skills heard on previous albums. Accompanying Monheit are strings arranged by Alan Broadbent, bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter Tom Harrell, drummer Kenny Washington, and tenor sax by Joal Frahm. The DVD side features the entire album in 5.1 surround sound, an artist bio, photo gallery, portable music files & weblinks.

Personnel: Jane Monheit (vocals); Ivan Lins (vocals, piano); Alan Broadbent, Vince Mendoza (arranger, conductor); Joel Frahm (tenor saxophone); Tom Harrell (trumpet); Michael Kanan, Kenny Ascher (piano); Rene Toledo (nylon string guitar); Joe Martin, Ron Carter (bass); Rick Montalbano, Kenny Washington (drums); Don Alias (percussion).
Recorded between March 19 & June 14, 2002.
"Since You've Asked" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards For Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.
This is a DualDisc, which contains a CD on one side of the disc and a DVD on the other.
Jane Monheit's third album attempts to combine a number of elements: jazz standards, Brazilian repertoire, ballads lushly orchestrated by Alan Broadbent and Vince Mendoza, and even pop vehicles originally sung by Linda Ronstadt and Judy Collins. The young vocalist is usually at her best fronting a small combo; here one wishes she had relied more on her working band with pianist Michael Kanan, bassist Joe Martin, tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, and drummer/husband Rick Montalbano. It is they who provide this record's most rewarding moments: Martin reharmonizes Ellington's "Just Squeeze Me"; Kanan presents a funky take on "Cheek to Cheek" and duets with Monheit on an unusually slow "Tea for Two." On these tracks one can hear Monheit taking vocal risks, testing her mettle with bluesy inflections and bold peaks in volume. Much of the rest of the album is closer to Streisand than Sarah Vaughan, however. The final four tracks bog down in slow tempos and a vanilla-syrup aesthetic; her Portuguese-language rendition of Ivan Lins' "Comecar de Novo" seems especially contrived. But her duet with guitarist Rene Toledo on "Chega de Saudade" is more convincing, and Lins' guest appearance on his own "Once I Walked in the Sun" provides some lilting harmonic tensions. ~ David R. Adler
What is it about Jane Monheit that's sufficiently captured public attention to make her a star of the jazz world? Is it her photogenic mug and cheesecake album art, her close-enough-to-Krall style? Or is there just something about the way she tackles well-worn standards ("Some Other Time," "Cheek to Cheek"), more contemporary material ("Love Has No Pride," Judy Collins's "Since You've Asked"), and Brazilian tunes (by the likes of Ivan Lins, who makes a guest appearance on his own "Once I Walked in the Sun," and Vinicius De Moraes) with the same measured grace. Of course, having top-flight jazz musicians like saxman Joel Frahm, bass legend Ron Carter, and trumpet great Tom Harrell on board doesn't hurt matters, and Monheit's own ability to appeal to fans of pop and (presumably) Broadway with her cannily syncretic style seals the deal.

Mojo (Publisher) (12/02, p.116) - "...Highly sophisticated and gorgeously realized..."