Jane Monheit
A dazzling jazz singer with a highly resonant voice and swinging style, Jane Monheit is known for her warm interpretations of standards and classic pop songs, as well as songs out of the Latin and bossa nova traditions. Influenced strongly by Ella Fitzgerald, Monheit first garnered attention in the late '90s and has performed with artists like Wynton Marsalis, John Pizzarelli, and Christian McBride. She has released a string of well-received albums, including 2001's Come Dream with Me, 2004's Taking a Chance on Love, and 2010's Home, all of which landed in the Top Five of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. While at home performing with a large orchestra, as on 2002's In the Sun, Monheit most often works with her small group, as on 2021's Come What May. She combined both lush orchestrations and urbane combo styles on 2022's holiday album The Merriest and 2024's Jane Monheit.
Born in 1977 in Oakdale, New York, Monheit was encouraged to pursue music from a young age by her father, who played guitar, and her mother, who sang. Primarily influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, as well as singers like Judy Garland and Billie Holiday, Monheit also drew early inspiration from Broadway musicals. She began taking vocal lessons, and by her teens was already performing gigs locally. After high school, she attended the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Peter Eldridge, noted founder of New York Voices. It was while still in school at age 20 that she won runner-up in the 1998 Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition. That same year, she signed to the N-Coded label and released her debut album of standards, Never Never Land.
Monheit graduated from Manhattan School of Music the following year and returned in 2001 with her sophomore album, Come Dream with Me, which featured appearances by Christian McBride, Tom Harrell, and Kenny Barron. It also proved a breakthrough for Monheit, hitting number one on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. In the Sun arrived in 2002 and found her framed in lush orchestrations by Alan Broadbent and Vince Mendoza. The album performed well, landing at number five on the jazz chart. The release was also the first to include Monheit's drummer and husband, Rick Montalbano, Jr., with whom she would continue to work and collaborate regularly.
Following appearances on albums by Terence Blanchard, Tom Harrell, and Mark O'Connor, Monheit again reached the Top Ten of the jazz charts with 2004's Taking a Chance on Love, a romantic album that reunited her with arranger Mendoza and included a duet with singer Michael Bublé. The holiday-themed The Season arrived in 2005, followed two years later by the ballads-oriented Surrender. In 2009, she released her seventh studio album, The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me. Along with a rendition of the Muppets ballad "The Rainbow Connection," the record found Monheit exploring a mix of classic and contemporary works, including songs by Paul Simon, Fiona Apple, and Corinne Bailey Rae.
Home arrived on Emarcy in 2010, debuting at number five on the jazz chart. It featured guest appearances by singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli and one of Monheit's former Manhattan School of Music teachers, vocalist Peter Eldridge. In 2013, she released her ninth studio album, the Gil Goldstein-produced Heart of the Matter. A more personal record in the vein of The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me, it again reached number five on the jazz chart. She then collaborated with pianist David Benoit on 2015's Believe and 2 in Love before paying homage to her idol with 2016's The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald.
In 2021, Monheit released her tenth studio album, Come What May, which featured her longtime group with pianist and musical director Michael Kanan. A year later, she delivered the holiday-themed The Merriest, which featured guitarist John Pizzarelli. The eponymously titled Jane Monheit arrived in 2024. Produced by the singer and her husband Rick Montalbano, Jr., it featured a blend of standards and bossa nova tunes, as well as several orchestral arrangements with the Nashville Recording Orchestra.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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Discography
24 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Silver Bells
Christmas Music - Released by Club44 Records on Nov 1, 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Taking A Chance On Love
Jazz - Released by Sony Classical on Dec 8, 2003
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Jane Monheit
Vocal Jazz - Released by Club44 Records on Oct 18, 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Home
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Group International on Sep 27, 2010
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Come What May
Vocal Jazz - Released by Club44 Records on Mar 12, 2021
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Come Dream with Me
Vocal Jazz - Released by N-Coded Music on Mar 15, 2001
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald
Jazz - Released by Emerald City Records on Apr 8, 2016
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Very Best of Jane Monheit
Vocal Jazz - Released by N-Coded Music on Mar 15, 2005
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Heart Of The Matter
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Group International on Jan 1, 2013
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Taking A Chance On Love
Jazz - Released by Columbia on Sep 6, 2004
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Never Never Land
Vocal Jazz - Released by N-Coded Music on Mar 15, 2000
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
In the Sun
Vocal Jazz - Released by N-Coded Music on Sep 17, 2002
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Surrender (iTunes Exclusive)
Jazz - Released by Concord Records on Jan 1, 2007
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Live at the Rainbow Room
Vocal Jazz - Released by N-Coded Music on Dec 9, 2003
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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The Merriest
Christmas Music - Released by Club44 Records on Nov 11, 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Merriest
Christmas Music - Released by Club44 Records on Nov 11, 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me
Jazz - Released by Concord Records on Jan 1, 2008
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo