Jane Monheit

Jane Monheit’s Jazz Party

Birdland, NYC, July 6, 2014

Reviewed by Peter Haas for Cabaret Scenes

Make mine Monheit! Now you can spend your summer Sunday evenings in the delightful company of jazz vocalist Jane Monheit, her band, her songs and her guest stars. They’re all part of a bright new series, Jane Monheit’s Jazz Party, playing at Birdlland through the end of September. The shows are heralded as “part concert, part jam session, part workshop and all fun.”

The first session, on July 6, lived up to its billing. Center stage: Jane herself—relaxed, displaying a sweet sense of humor and in great voice. She and her band—Michael Kanan on piano, Neal Miner on bass and Rick Montalbano on drums—proceeded to treat listeners to a wealth of popular music, including numbers by Jobim, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Livingston & Evans, Rodgers & Hart and others.

The new format features guest stars as well. On opening night, they included Birdland regulars Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch, singing their own numbers as well as joining Monheit on a merry “Gotta Have Me Go with You” from A Star Is Born. Also included was Marilyn Maye, with Stritch accompanying her, performing Dave Mason’s “Waitin’ on You” followed by Arlen and Mercer’s “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”—the latter bringing the audience to its feet, cheering. Monheit closed the evening with a lovely, gentle rendition of Jobim’s “Waters of March.”

During the evening, Birdland owner Gianni Valenti took the microphone to announce that a new photo had just gone up on the wall, among the collection honoring its stars. The surprised subject: Jane herself – now a continuing member of the Birdland family.