Jane Monheit On Tour For The Lovers, The Dreamers & Me, Comes To Blue Note 6/16-21

It’s been just over a decade since Jane Monheit first made a name for herself after placing second in the Thelonious Monk competition in 1998. Since then, she’s been touted one of the next great vocalists of her generation, and she’s now on tour in support of her seventh release and second for the Concord Label, The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me. The recording features arrangements by Gil Goldstein and songs ranging from standards by the likes of Cole Porter and Leonard Bernstein, a pop song by Fiona Apple, and love songs like “The Rainbow Connection,” a children’s song she sings to her son, Jack, who was born during the making of the recording. Monheit will appear at the Blue Note in June during the first leg of the June Vocal Series, which will feature Spencer Day, Sophie Milman, Bilal and Rachelle Ferrell throughout the month.        

This event will be taking place from Friday, June 16 – Sunday, June 21, 2009. Sets are at 8:00pm & 10:30pm. It features Jane Monheit (vocals), Michael Kanan (piano), Neal Miner (bass), Rick Montalbano (drums).

Tickets cost $35 at table / $20 at bar.

Performances are at The Blue Note; 131 W 3rd. St, New York, NY 10012. Doors open at 6:00pm. There is a $5.00 food and/or beverage minimum.

It is a lifelong musical journey from the dreamy innocence of “Never Never Land” to the world-weary delusion of “Something Cool.” Yet, Jane Monheit, now firmly established as one of the post-millennial jazz world’s foremost vocalists, has managed to make the trip in just eight years. In 2000, Monheit chose the sweet, escapist Peter Pan lullaby as the title tune for her debut album. Now, with The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me, her sophomore release for Concord (following 2006’s sumptuous Surrender), she is plumbing the gin-soaked escapism of the heartrending tune made famous by June Christy in 1953.

The disc’s title is instantly recognizable as a line from “Rainbow Connection,” the sweetly optimistic Muppets tune that closes the album. “I was actually having trouble coming up with a title,” says Monheit, “so I asked for advice from a friend of mine and within seconds he said, ‘call it The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me.’ I was like, ‘oh my Lord, that is the most perfect thing I’ve ever heard,’ because I’m playing these different characters on the record and coming from these different points of view. Every song isn’t about me. So this cast of characters is the lovers, the dreamers and me. Some of the songs are utterly appropriate to my own point of view, but others like “Something Cool” and “I Did It for Your Love” are things I haven’t lived.”

The album’s second recording session, held after Jack’s birth, ushered in an equally stellar team of musicians, including Gil Goldstein on piano, guitarist Romero Lubambo (who provides sole accompaniment on “A Primeira Vez”), drummer Antonio Sànchez, bassist Scott Colley and percussionist Bashiri Johnson. Goldstein also crafted more than half the arrangements, with Lubambo stepping in to arrange the two Brazilian tracks and Kanan shaping “Get Out of Town,” “I’m Glad There Is You” and “Lucky to Be Me.”

The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me carries a dual dedication: to infant Jack and to the late Joel Dorn, who produced Monheit’s first three albums. “There are so many things on this record that Joel would have loved,” she muses. “I learned so much about making records from him. We were very, very close. I saw him one last time before he died, and we talked about a new project we wanted to do together. I literally found out about his death while standing outside the hospital waiting to go in for an ultrasound and hear my baby’s heartbeat for the first time. I was on the table crying out of sadness for Joel’s loss and for hearing the beat of my son’s heart. It was a very surreal experience. So, it just seemed right to dedicate the album to both of them.”

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