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Jane Monheit
Biography and debut CD Never
Never Land. Concert: Widder Bar, February 13, 2001
Sheet
music by Jane Monheit
Biography of Jane
Monheit
Article added in February 2001
Born on November 3, 1977, Jane Monheit
grew up on Oakdale, Long Island. At the age of 2, she is said to have
begun singing Somewhere Over the
Rainbow and Honeysuckle Rose. Her aunt and grandmother
were professional singers. Her brother is a rock guitar player, her dad plays bluegrass banjo
music and her mother was in musical theater. At school, Jane studied clarinet and
music theory. She realized at an early age that jazz was the thing she
wanted to do. Her main influence was Ella Fitzgerald.
At high school, Monheit played the lead in all the
theatre performances. At the same time, she performed at the clubs on the South Shore of Long
Island. Her formal vocal training began at
age 17 at New York City's prestigious
Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Peter Eldrige, a founding member of the
vocal group New York Voices. In New York, she also moved into the cabaret
scene in Village piano bars.
Jane's college boyfriend and fiancée, Rick
Montalbano, a jazz drummer who played at her side in Zurich (see the
concert review below), steered her away from cabaret towards jazz. She began singing with
the quintet Rick was playing in which included the pianist David Berkman
(who also played at the Widder Bar).
In her senior year at the
Manhattan School of Music, she made her breakthrough. At 20, she won the first runner-up prize at the 1998 Thelonius Monk Institute
Vocal Competition. The top award went to the legendary Teri Thornton who
made her comeback at 64, already suffering from cancer. She died in May
2000. Jane's performance led to the recording
of Never Never Land, her debut album, released in October 2000,
which was an instant success. On Never Never Land, Monheit sings 10
ballads with such notable jazz figures as Kenny
Barron, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, Bucky Pizzarelli, Hank Crawford and David
"Fathead" Newman.
Carl Griffin, the head of artists and
repertory for the multimedia company N2K, discovered Monheit at the Monk
Competition. He offered her a record contract when she finished college in
June 1999. Today, Griffin is the president of the N2K spinoff record
label, N-Coded Music, which released Never Never Land. Besides the
deal for two records with an option for three more, Monheit also came
under the wing of manager Mary Ann Topper's Jazz Tree. Topper had launched the careers of Diana Krall,
Michel Petrucciani and Joshua Redman.
Concert at the
Widder Bar, Zurich, February 13, 2001
On Tuesday night, the small Widder Bar was
sold out. News about Jane Monheit's sensational debut album had spread
quickly. In Zurich, she was accompanied by Dave Berkman on piano, Paul Boothe
on tenor saxophone, Orlando Le Fleming on bass and
Rick
Montalbano on drums.
The four men began the concert with an
instrumental tune, before Jane Monheit joined them for the second piece. Please
Be Kind from her debut album Never Never Land set the
mood. The song's lyrics were telling: "This is all so grand"
described perfectly what she has been experiencing since winning the first runner-up prize at the 1998 Thelonius Monk Institute
Vocal Competition and her first CD recorded in 2000. "Please be
kind" was a message to the public: All she ever wanted to do is sing;
this tour is her chance to make a breakthrough. To make a long story short, her
first trip to Zurich proved that she is already much more than a talent.
Her intonation and assurance were striking.
The only sad point about the performance
concerned the accompanying musicians. The bassist and drummer were not up
to their job at all. The third young man, Paul Boothe on tenor saxophone,
played better the longer the evening went on, not only as a background
musician for Jane, but also as a soloist. Still, he has a long way to go,
but a fair chance to succeed. The only man always performing on the level
of the singer was Dave Berkman on piano. He is probably ten years older
then the rest of the group and that could be heard throughout the concert.
He was also responsible for all the musical arrangements, except one.
The men and women of Monheit's record label
act irresponsibly. Such a rare talent as Jane deserves to be treated like
a diamond. She needs a first class quartet to
progress - something she won't be able to do aside musicians like Orlando
and Rick.
Monheit's second song performed at the
Widder Bar was Jobim's Dindi, from Never Never Land like
most tunes played in the first part of the evening. Jane showed style,
warmth and the necessary softness. The elasticity of her voice was as
striking as was her ability to transmit the song's message, "I love you
more each day".
In More Than You Know, Monheit
showed all her vocal talent. Gershwin's I Was Doing All Right was
the first tune of her next - still untitled - album to come soon. She
demonstrated that she cannot only sing ballads like on Never Never Land.
Once more, only the pianist, Berkman, kept up with her performance. Never Let
Me Go came next, a tribute to approaching Valentine's day. Jane's intensity
and her ability to connect to the public were stunning. For the first
time, Paul Boothe on saxophone demonstrated that he is a talented young
man.
The swinging Hit the Road to Dreamland
was another song from her upcoming second album. My Foolish Heart
from her debut album enchanted with its Bossa Nova edge. The last tune
before the break was the title song from Never Never Land,
performed with the required innocence and a flawless intonation.
In the second part, Jane Monheit showed
another facet of her personality in The Meaning of Blues, a
beautiful blue tune. The English version of Jobim's How Insensitive
gratified with its grace and elegance. In Nobody Else But Me, Jane's
natural
connection with the public stunned once more - she has a huge potential in
this regard. It was the first time she showed a vocal weakness. With I'll
Be Seeing You followed Jane's favorite arrangement of the evening, as
she confessed to the public. It started off with a dark rhythm provided by
the bass. The last tune, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, was marvelous.
The only thing Jane needs to improve are her gestures which testify to her
young age.
The only encore, They Can't Take That
Away From Me, showcased a self-assured Jane Monheit, with one hand,
vamp-like, posed on the piano. Her voice has elegance, grace and style. She
is the most outstanding young female singer I have seen so far and I am
sure, we ain't have seen nothing of the real Jane yet. -
Sheet
music by Jane Monheit.
Jane Monheit photograph from 2010. Photos copyright
© Vincent Soyez / Universal Music.
Jane Monheit photograph from 2010. Photo copyright
© Vincent Soyez / Universal Music.
Jane Monheit photograph from 2010. Photos copyright
© Vincent Soyez / Universal Music.
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New in September 2010: Jane Monheit: Home. Order the CD from
Amazon.com,
Amazon.de,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.ca.
Jane Monheit. Photo copyright
© Universal Music.
Jane Monheit:
Surrender. CD released by Concord Records in 2007. Get it from
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.de,
Amazon.fr. Added on June 20, 2008: If you went away gives me
the feeling of classic Hollywood movie or of a Streisand song. Rio de
maio with Ivan Lins is an escape to the glamorous side of Rio de
Janeiro. The ten songs on Surrender are a joy to listen to, tender
and full of love. They are not in the jazz but rather in the popular music
field. The three Brazilian Portuguese songs are the most impressive. -
Sheet
music by Jane Monheit.
Jane Monheit: The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me. Order the CD from
Amazon.com,
Amazon.ca,
Amazon.de. - Jane Monheit bei Amazon.de .
Jane Monheit:
Never Neverland, 2000.
Get her debut album from Amazon.fr,
Amazon.de,
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.ca.
Musicians on Never Neverland:
Jane Monheit, voc;
Dave Berkman, p;
Paul Boothe, ts;
Orlando Le Fleming, b;
Rick Montalbano, dm.
Jane Monheit: Taking a Chance on Love. Sony, September 2004. Get
the CD from Amazon.com,
Amazon.ca
or Amazon.de.
DVD Jane Monheit In Concert - Taking a Chance on Love. Get the DVD
from Amazon.com
or Amazon.ca.
Jane Monheit: Live at the Rainbow Room. December 2003. Get the live
CD from Amazon.com,
Amazon.ca.
Photograph of Jane Monheit.
Photo copyright
© Universal Music.
DVD Jane Monheit - Live at the Rainbow Room. Sony. Get the DVD from
Amazon.com,
Amazon.ca,
Amazon.de
or Amazon.co.uk
(different DVD covers).
Jane Monheit: Come Dream With Me, May 2001, N-Coded. Get it from:
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.de. On her second CD, Jane Monheit continues to enchant us with her sweet
and dreamy soprano voice, although Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a song she
performed even better live in Zurich. Hit The Road To Dreamland is simply
a joy and Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova tune Waters of March is of a
sensational freshness. The twelve songs prove once more that Jane Monheit is a
queen of ballads. Luckily, on the CD, she is again
accompanied by great musicians such as Kenny Barron, Michael Brecker, Tom
Harrell, Gregory Hutchinson, Christian McBride and Richard Bona.
Jane Monheit: In The Sun. Sony,
September/October 2002. Recorded with Ron Carter, Kenny Washington and
other fine jazz musicians. Get the CD from: Amazon.com,
Amazon.ca,
Amazon.de,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.co.uk.
- Sheet
music by Jane Monheit.
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