BWW Reviews: Jane Monheit Presents Stunning Tribute to Judy Garland

First, a bit of disclosure.

This review, I admit, is a bit biased, only because of the fact that Jane Monheit---the two-time Grammy-nominated international jazz superstar and frequent favorite BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award-winner---is, in fact, my favorite singer of all time (a point I've already divulged in past columns, including my first interview with her, here).

Blessed with enviable vocal control, a knowledgeable affection for the Great American Songbook, and vivid, theatrically-tinged delivery that flawlessly alternates between sassiness, sorrow, and sensuality, she is an accomplished master of her craft and has actually been highly influential in my own aspirations as a singer.

So any opportunity to catch Monheit bring her talents to a local venue outside of New York (and even nearby Los Angeles) is its own cause for celebration. And though one can't help but gush at her beautifully performed concerts, particularly if you're a fan like I am, it's still hard for newbies or casual music lovers alike to dispute the very fact that, upon hearing her on the first or the billionth time, this songstress is quite exceptional.

That was certainly evidenced by the rapturous reception she received during her triumphant return to Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Monheit closed out the Center's 2014-2015 Jazz series with Hello Bluebird, her jazz-centric tribute to the legendary Judy Garland, accompanied by genius pianist/arranger Michael Kanan, bassist Neal Miner, and drummer (and Monheit's husband) Rick Montalbano. As expected, the 85-minute concert was nothing less than stunning. Let me repeat... stunning.

"Judy was my first hero outside of my mom," gushed Monheit.

While even Monheit freely admitted during her show's March 13 opening night performance at the Samueli Theater that Garland wasn't necessarily well known foremost as a jazz artist, the infamous singer/actress did have a happier, peppier jazz side, one that Monheit wanted to highlight specifically in this concept concert.

"Let's forget all the drama..." Monheit said to explain the evening's theme, which focused more on Garland's lighter musical fare that straddled musical theater, big-band, and jazz, many of which can now be easily researched on YouTube.

So rather than focus on the legendary artist's supposedly sad backstage life, instead, her set was tailored by Monheit to be a reverent homage to Garland's strong leanings in the jazz and swing genre, as well as her innate ability to "bring happiness to others" in all her performances---even though, behind-the-scenes and hidden from public view, things in her private life may have been slightly more melancholy.

With that in mind, Monheit's set list (slightly shortened for the OC stop) was peppered with upbeat, lively Garland classics from her career spanning film, stage, the recording studio, and even her short-lived television program---all, of course, marinated in Monheit's top-notch jazzy flavoring. Highlights include the peppy opener "You Gotta Have Me Go With You," the beguiling "I Wish I Were In Love Again," "Stompin' At The Savoy," the adorable "How About You," the absolutely joyful "Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart," the rather apropos "Get Happy," and the toe-tapping "The Sweetest Sound"---which, Monheit disclosed was the song that prompted her to do this tribute in the first place.

Her version of "Love"---which goes from sultry to swing at the half-way point and was popularized by Lena Horne---was one of many wonderful examples throughout the night of Monheit's expansive range. Between Monheit's flawless scatting in "For Me And My Gal" (a duet she heard between Garland and Monheit's "first love" Gene Kelly) and seductive tones in Johnny Mercer's "That Old Black Magic"---it's also hard to ignore the parallels in both ladies' abilities to make the songs they're performing come alive and have deeper meaning.

Monheit---a proven aficionado of Brazilian jazz---even got to show off her flair for latin grooves with the cheeky rearrangement of "Johnny One Note" which she forewarned the audience's jazz purists that it strayed a bit off the usual path.

"Jazz police be damned!" exclaimed the genre-hopping rebel, disclosing that worldwide audiences have received her version rather well. "If you don't like this, you'll be the only one!" Ha! Gurrrlll, like, there is no way your audience would ever hate anything you sing.

Though she wanted to do away with sad ballads altogether in her tribute, she knew it would be impossible to avoid, considering Garland is such a consummate performer of the aching torch song. Thankfully, Hello Bluebird also included Monheit's riveting and gorgeous "Embraceable You" and the aptly-titled "Rejection Medley" which was comprised of "The Boy Next Door," "But Not For Me," and "The Man That Got Away"---all three worthy of the price of a ticket alone.

And, of course, in what has become her signature cover of her career, she concluded the evening with "Over the Rainbow" (this time punctuated with the show's title song "Hello, Bluebird"). In a vocal performance filled with longing, heartache, and hope, Monheit, once again, managed to reduce me to tears with her take on the infamous tune from Garland's The Wizard of Oz (If you're a new Monheit fan, seek out her Live from the Rainbow Room rendition of the song and tell me you're not moved like I was the first time I heard it).

As I've stated in past reviews, it's no wonder Monheit has gained such a following among the musical theater set---because she is so expressive and searingly emotive in her vocal delivery, that you can't help but feel immersed in her heartfelt musical storytelling. (Attention, casting agents---will you please give this New Yorker a Broadway musical already)? On top of her clever riffs and runs and her jaw-dropping vocal dynamics, she knows exactly what kind of mood each song deserves and she colors her delivery to bring that to the forefront. With live performances throughout the world for more than a decade under her belt, she makes it all look (and sound) effortless.

That experience has also helped her display a palpable, symbiotic rapport with her fellow insanely talented jazz musicians---particularly with her husband, whom she frequently flirted with on several songs throughout the evening in the most adorable of ways---resulting in a show where everyone's talents are highlighted, not just the marquee name on the playbill. (Side note: is it just me or does Kanan, in side profile, tinkling at the piano keys look remarkably like the spitting image of George Gershwin?)

Overall, this was one of Monheit's strongest sets to date (even though we were denied an encore), with her paying tribute to an icon with confidence and panache that only an artist of her proven caliber can pull off. If you're a fan of Judy Garland, jazz, or of hearing a singer with one of the most incredible voices in the world, then catch Hello, Bluebird when it comes to your neck of the woods.

If happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow, then why oh why can't I?

Photos by Matthew Holler, courtesy of SCFTA.

Follow this reviewer on Twitter: @cre8iveMLQ

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For more information on Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2015-2016 Cabaret and Jazz Series, visit www.SCFTA.org. Tickets and subscriptions are available online, by phone at 714-556-2787 or in person at the SCFTA box office (open daily at 10 am).

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

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