Jane Monheit Archive

Jane Monheit (vocals) – The Songbook Sessions – Ella Fitzgerald – Emerald City

by Audiophile Audition | Aug 11, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Jane Monheit (vocals) – The Songbook Sessions – Ella Fitzgerald [TrackList follows] – Emerald City ECR 001, 58:42 ****: A sincere tribute filled with vocal dexterity and ingenuity.   (Jane Monheit – vocals; Nicholas Payton – trumpet/organ tracks 11/12; Michael Kanan – electric piano; Neal Miner – bass; Rick Montalbano – drums; Daniel Sadownick – percussion; Brandee Younger – harp tracks 5/12) No longer the ingénue who at twenty was the first runner- up in the 1998 Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition, Jane Monheit has matured into a captivating and expressive singer. With the release of The Songbook Sessions – Ella Fitzgerald on her own label Emerald City Records, Monheit demonstrates her own acutely inventive capability. Tackling those songs that had been associated with the great jazz songstress Ella Fitzgerald is no small undertaking. While certainly not intentionally attempting to channel Ella, comparisons would be forthcoming regardless of intent. Fortunately Monheit’s own vocal dexterity and ingenuity get paid to that idea in a hurry.  Starting with Duke Ellington’s “All To Soon”, Monheit shows her inquisitive spirit as she weaves her way around the lyric as the band shows a soft Latin touch, with trumpeter Nicholas Payton offering some interesting fills. […]