Jane Monheit in Springfield, Mo.

Appreciating the appreciated
and the underappreciated
 

A performance form 2002, at the height of the hype

Jane Monheit brought her luscious warbling voice and her sophisticated trio to Springfield, Mo., last night for a program of standards promoting her new album, Home. Among the highlights:

• Two Fred Astaire-related tunes, "Shine on Your Shoes" and "Cheek to Cheek," with audience patter in which she ranked Daddy Long Legs among the most underappreciated of jazz singers.
• "Moon River," fortified with her soaring alternative melody in a vocalise passage that evoked the longing and melancholy that the lyrics describe. This choice was also amusing for its proximity to the tune’s champion, Andy Williams, who performs periodically at his own theater 45 miles down the road in Branson, The Live Music Capital of the World.
• "The Eagle and Me," with some blues emphasis that added a little grit to the evening.
• "Twisted," smoothed out compared to the standard set by Annie Ross with Lambert and Hendricks — but a welcomed addition to the program.

I remember the berserk marketing freak-out over Jane Monheit a decade ago. The hype greatly amplified the revulsion that hard-core jazzers have for young, white women who sing standards and get rich. I have also heard the bitterly scathing outbursts of jazz musicians as they criticize singers in general for their narcissism and lack of skills.

Such complaints would apply to bad singers, but Monheit is not a bad singer. She can improvise and she can swing. Sure, I would prefer a little less dramatic running-of-the-hands-through-the-hair and a little more grease applied to the tunes overall, as in "The Eagle and Me." But, last night, I really wasn’t thinking about complaints. It was an evening to relax, sit back, and listen.

This morning, I am thinking about Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, along with several current underappreciated singers: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Patricia Barber, and Diane Reeves.