[recstar24]

All i can say is, this girl can sing! I grew up on Ella fitzgerald, i have always thought she was the prototype of what a female singer should sound like, so i basically compare every female singer to her. I heard Jane Monheit was like the second coming, so i picked up a copy.

Wow! She sounds exactly like her, but she has her own flavor as well, she's like a young ella, her voice is perfect. She has all the typical ella licks, the vibrato and the little riffs and melismas that ella was known for, Monheit has these down to the teat.

Wondering if anyone else out there feeling what im feeling, this girl is something special!

 

[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 All i can say is, this girl can sing! I grew up on Ella fitzgerald, i have always thought she was the prototype of what a female singer should sound like, so i basically compare every female singer to her. I heard Jane Monheit was like the second coming, so i picked up a copy. Wow! She sounds exactly like her, but she has her own flavor as well, she's like a young ella, her voice is perfect. She has all the typical ella licks, the vibrato and the little riffs and melismas that ella was known for, Monheit has these down to the teat. Wondering if anyone else out there feeling what im feeling, this girl is something special!

YES. I tell everyone she is the best since Ella, I don't see why she isn't more popular. Her voice is perfect, absolutely.

 

[millercv]

I could listen to her version of Waters of March on repeat for the rest of my life - check out her concert DVD as well. Good stuff.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard YES. I tell everyone she is the best since Ella, I don't see why she isn't more popular. Her voice is perfect, absolutely.

YES!!! That is exactly how i feel, i couldn't tell you either why she isn't more popular, she's a young ella, what else can you ask for?

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by millercv I could listen to her version of Waters of March on repeat for the rest of my life - check out her concert DVD as well. Good stuff.

Listening to it right now, totally know what you mean! Right now, i only have that album, do you have any other recommendations on what should be my next Monheit purchase?

 

[hubcaps]

I totally agree with what you guys are saying. My favorite album is her first, Never Never Land and then Come Away with me. I wouldn't recommend In the Sun. With each album she seemed to be more "pop" or "mainstream." I'm glad that she's heading back to jazz with that last album. Another great album is Let's Get Lost. It's actually a Terrance Blanchard record featuring the songs of Jimmy McHugh. Jane does two of the songs. It also features Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson, and Dianna Reeves.

 

[immtbiker]

I believe she has only been on the scene since 2002, so give her some time to gain popularity, in a non-pop genre which is listened to by 10% of the public. I heard her while listening to Music Choice Digital Radio, on cable TV, and knew she was going to be one of my new favorites. I have all her CD's...just wish they'd release one on vinyl.

 

[akerman]

Yes the girl can sing. But so can a LOT of others. I'd rather want an exiciting singer.. something like the female equivalent to Jeff Buckley, if such a girl exists

 

[saint.panda]

She has a lovely voice but so far she has only sung classics and nothing written by herself - so was the critic in the German jazz magazine Jazzthing. From what I understand, she'll be the flagship female jazz singer for Sony, which apparently hopes to ride on the Jones/Krall/Nergaard wave. This ambition apparenty led to more skin action on the cover. However, I'm not sure if this kind of success pressure is necessarily beneficial for an obviously gifted singer like her. I find Honeysuckle Rose to be a very charming song, love her vibrato but I agree that singing her own songs won't hurt.

 

[immtbiker]

On that note, there certainly seems to be an large influx of Jazz vocalists doing "Standards" albums, lately (including Queen Latifah). While I do enjoy them, there are only so many times you can listen to "All, or Nothing At All", done by the pretty ladies. Jane has a beautiful voice, and so does Holly Cole, Jacintha, Karrin Allison...but they are all doing covers. They are borderline pop, and are at a critical point in their careers, where it can go either way. If Sony has it's way, it can blow it for them, if they have their say. Money talks. One thing that can be admired is that these are top quality recordings.

Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughn, and Billie Holiday, all had songs written for them (although Nina wrote a lot of her stuff), but they were in the era in which Jazz was taking shape.

 

[elrod-tom]

I bought Taking A Chance On Love recently, and although she's clearly very talented, I wasn't crazy about the choice of material. She can do a lot better than what seemed to me to be a selection of warmed-over show tunes and stuff that was just a bit too old to be relevant.

I just didn't care for the album...not my speed I guess. But there's no doubt that the girl got serious pipes!!

 

[ooheadsoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda She has a lovely voice but so far she has only sung classics and nothing written by herself - so was the critic in the German jazz magazine Jazzthing. From what I understand, she'll be the flagship female jazz singer for Sony, which apparently hopes to ride on the Jones/Krall/Nergaard wave. This ambition apparenty led to more skin action on the cover. However, I'm not sure if this kind of success pressure is necessarily beneficial for an obviously gifted singer like her. I find Honeysuckle Rose to be a very charming song, love her vibrato but I agree that singing her own songs won't hurt.

This is how things used to be. Makes it easy for one to hear what the artist is doing to the song. Name a song that Ella wrote?

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo This is how things used to be. Makes it easy for one to hear what the artist is doing to the song. Name a song that Ella wrote?

Good point! I love ellas voice as well, thats why i am so in love with Jane, but ella wasnt necessarily an innovator, her scatting made people crazy, but they were far from spontaneous - i believe she actually would go home and work on her improv licks, rehearse and memorize them, and perform them that way during the recording or live setting, but she is still wonderful!

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo This is how things used to be. Makes it easy for one to hear what the artist is doing to the song. Name a song that Ella wrote?

Unfortunately I am not very familiar with Ella and her background but from your question I assume she didn't write too many songs herself. You are correct that by performing classics the listener has a bechmark by which an artist can be measured. Keith Jarrett's intepretation of Autumn Leaves for instance was an instant classic in both ways. However, through classics she might be able to distinguish and establish herself as a great singer but not necessarily as a great artist. Certainly, a lot of great albums in jazz history are made of classics or cover versions (Monk plays Ellington e.g.) but these artists have already proven themselves through their own creations. Now, there's the question whether a "personalized" song has to be written by the artist herself and whether if that is not the case, this would be any different from singing classics. Well, I suppose that most jazz singers do have some sort of musical education and take pride in what they do. I doubt they would just or only sing songs written for them. At least, they will have a say in the making or selection of songs, or so I hope. Norah Jones and Diana Krall, two CD-sale benchmarks for Ms. Monheit and Sony, both have their personally written songs on their CDs with Diana Krall having taken an even more personal approach with her last one.
Finally, if Sony wants her breakthrough, they certainly won't arrive at the slightly younger generation with classics only. But maybe they're hoping that the young people will hear them for the first time anyway

 

[Jahn]

Pavarotti probably never wrote an opera - in fact none of them did most likely. But I consider opera singers Artists, just as I do musicians who stick to the Standards - it's not just a glorified cover band, it's true art when you hear Billie Holliday interpret Stormy Weather and make it her own.

Oh, and Norah Jones didn't write "Don't Know Why" either, but that didn't stop it from being a hit. Ain't no shame in singing someone else's song.