Published March 7, 2002

Well, this article both celebrates Jane Monheit's fabulously sophisticated vocals and my long-awaited return to column writing. Thanks for the wait.

Whenever you see Jane Monheit's name on a newspaper or magazine, it is usually associated with the label "New Jazz Vocal Sensation." Some critics even claim she is a modern-day Ella Fitzgerald. While she possessses a distinctly different style from Fitzgerald, after seeing her in Blues Alley last night, I would not be surprised to see Monheit legitimately inheriting Fitzgerald's throne as "the voice" in one or two years.

Not surprisingly, there are dissenters amongst those who celebrate Miss Monheit's burgeoning celebrity status. Esteemed vocalist (and one of my favorites) Pam Bricker proclaims, "I'm just not a big Monheit fan." And rightfully so, since Bricker's influences include Nancy Wilson, Betty Carter, and Carmen McRae - all traditional jazz standard vocalists. Pianist Wayne Wilentz comments, "[Monheit] can't scat. But she's the one getting all those recording contracts." Bricker's and Wilentz's jealousy are not unjustified, because there are jazz musicians out there who are as talented as Miss Monheit (like Bricker himself) but "have not made it." Monheit, a mere 24 year-old girl from Long Island has seemingly acquired her stardom with relatively little effort. "Just because she's pretty?!" an unknown source added.

I was one of those people with such jealousy and skepticism before entering the doors of Blues Alley. When I left the venue, I felt refreshed, pleasantly surprised - I knew I had to re-form my opinion about Monheit. In short, she is as real as it gets. I totally understand why Bassist Ron Carter says, "If you can find someone that sings better than Jane, give me a call." In fact, Carter's strong feelings to the young vocalist caused him to lend a helping hand in her first album on N-Coded label.

Having signed on to that label, Monheit released two chart-topping albums Never Never Land (2000), and Come Dream With Me (2001). While jealousy arrives with the albums' immense success, it also stems from Monheit's opportunity to work with the best jazz musicians today - Aside from Carter, Michael Brecker, Tom Harrell, David "Fathead" Newman, Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, Lewis Nash, Gregory Hutchinson, etc - an all-star lineup. So I was curious to find out what the diva had to offer, musically.

When I was waiting in line before the show, I heard the following exchanges from two people in front of me:

A: What's her name? Is it pronounced "MonHIT" or "MonHEIGHT."

B: I think it's "MonHEIGHT."

A: I don't know. I just read about her in the New York Times Magazine like a month ago.

B: Yeah, me too. You mean two weeks ago.

A: Yeah, maybe it was two weeks ago.

All I have to say is that N-Coded Records has done an incredible job advertising Jane Monheit to the hopelessly ignorant general public who knows nothing about jazz.

Back to the concert. After a shuffle from her quartet, Monheit hits the stage with "Please Be Kind," a song begging the audience to be sympathetic to her novelty. Of course, not only did the audience forgive her youth and new arrival to the jazz scene, but we also gave her first well-deserved applause of the evening.

Monheit sang many songs from her two CDs, notably "I'm Thru with Love" starting off with a cute exchange between Monheit and her pianist, then joined by the rest of the band. Thankfully, the songs were in a different arrangement from the CDs, making it candy to my ears. (For those who are close readers, you know I am a hater of recycled arrangements.) The more successful arrangements include "Hit the Road to Dreamland," "Spring Fever," "Waters of March." The less successful ones were incidentally arranged by bassist Joe Martin, including "My Foolish Heart." Monheit also sang Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You," a duet with Martin, the only non-jazz standard tune of the evening. On "Case," Monheit said, "This is a very important song for me." And her expressive voice showed us why.

Monheit truly lit up the stage when she performed songs that were not on her albums. The first one was a slow rendition of "Tea For Two" featuring an expressive piano performance from Michael Kamen. Monheit said, "This is one of the songs I sang when I was little. You all know this song." The romantic tension between Monheit and Kamen was impeccable. No wonder why Monheit exclaimed, "This song will be in our next album."

Monheit got sassy with "I'm Just a Lucky So and So," calling it one of those "second-set tunes." She said, "We did our tour mainly in concert halls. So there's only one set. This song never has the right punch in the first set." Indeed, Monheit shows us what a 24 year-old can do to an old blues standard. She sang it with such emotion and zest that is unforced and natural. This song stood out in the evening and earned her the ticket to become the next great female jazz vocalist alongside Sarah Vaughan, Rebecca Parris, Maxine Sullivan, Rosemary Clooney and Ella.

Monheit finished the set with "Over the Rainbow," originally recorded by Judy Garland. Worth noting here was the echo effects the sound engineer created at the soundboard. I noticed the key to Monheit's almost flawless performance was augmented by the sound engineer's "dirty tricks" behind the scenes. For future reference: If you want to be a great jazz singer, not only do you need a great band, but you also need a good sound engineer.

Throughout the night, Monheit showed off her stardom. Her communication with the musicians was accurate while her eye-contact with the audience was equally flirtatious. No wonder why the band played with such encouragement and the spectators sweetly seduced. Monheit's presence was sweet, innocent yet well-trained and experienced. Her use of microphone itself was worth of price of admission. There were many couples in the audience. They were all charmed by Monheit's sincere manners and showy vocal techniques. Monheit's ostentation was the only complaint I had with her singing. Hopefully as she travels and performs more she will realize a heartfelt straight-ahead rendition of a tune (as she did in "Tea For Two") will prove far more effective than showing off in virtually every song.

Monheit explained the last time she set foot in Blues Alley was during the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition some four years ago. How time has cultivated and nurtured a young gifted vocalist. What Jane Monheit showed us on March 7, 2002 is how miracles could happen if one used her imagination and worked hard. Time and again, the close ambiance of Blues Alley makes it still hands down the best place to listen to jazz in Washington D.C. The Monheit group only charged $18 - that was a bargain and a half.