Jane Monheit Sings Ella Fitzgerald: The Songbook Sessions

Jane Monheit’s warm vocal style easily bridges the worlds of jazz and cabaret. Her debut recording, released in 2000, received critical raves from the Jazz Journalist’s Association and rode the Billboard Jazz chart for over a year. Monheit’s selection of music with its emphasis on melodic and lyrical content, matched with her pitch perfect vocals, immediately found a worldwide fan base. From there her career skyrocketed, with performances at major concert halls and jazz venues around the world. Collaborations with Brazilian singer/songwriter Ivan Lins, fiddler/violinist Mark O’Connor, and other prominent musicians earned rave reviews. Her follow-up recordings also met with similar success, receiving Grammy nominations in Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals category, thanks to her arranger Vince Mendoza. Over the past decade-and-a-half, Monheit’s skillful song interpretation has only deepened, imbued with a rich expression that can only be gained through experience. Now, a veteran performer with eleven albums to her credit – plus a Best Of compilation – Monheit continues to reveal new ways to the heart of a song. This time around Monheit Sings Ella Fitzgerald. When asked “Why Ella?” Monheit gushed, “I mean Ella Fitzgerald is my hero, her albums were like biblical to me as a kid, I learned so much from them.”