Like their leader, the musicians in Monheit's band are highly skilled and somewhat conservative in presentation; all appear on at least some cuts of the new recording. Pianist Michael Kanan provided sympathetic support throughout, but rarely cut loose, as he finally did on the fiery last set rendition of "Lover Come Back." Bassist Orlando Le Fleming similarly kept up a steady groove from night to night, most notably enhancing the Rio-worthy arrangements of Jobim ("Samba Do Aviao") and Lins ("Once I Walked in the Sun") and adding spice to "Honeysuckle Rose." Miles Okazaki was effective on both acoustic and electric guitars, particularly in weaving an electronic mesh for "Taking a Chance on Love" and, on the last set, setting a gorgeous acoustic net for Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night," one of the most sultry performances of the week. Through at least three readings, his solitary acoustic accompaniment to "Embraceable You" gave the well-worn standard a bossa-tinged warmth, powerful without overpowering and allowing Monheit the space to vary the essence of her story from one set to the next. Rick Montalbano's drumming was often subtle, but at times stoking the fire and smoking the groove, as on "Waters of March" and (particularly the last) "No More Blues." And as Monheit's husband, it also seemed appropriate that Montalbano was often on the receiving end of the singer's visual embrace.

Although much of the material appeared across multiple sets, not all of the selections were from the new release or even any of her previous CDs. Her rendition of "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" was filled with passion and longing-- I am only bewildered as to the absence of this gem from her recordings. Monheit herself noted it has been recorded "millions of times" and that she will undoubtedly include it one day--- I hope soon.

It's tempting to compare Jane Monheit to a more mature singer like Rene Marie, also on stage at the Dakota recently. They both know how to engage the audience, Marie more through her personal storytelling and Moheit more through her seductive charm; they both have a theatrical flare in each gesture and expression, although Marie in motion is a ballet dancer and Monheit more the coquette. And while both are promoting new releases, Marie sang from very different playlists, while Monheit seemed enslaved by a core of ten songs that left little room for surprise. Yet, Monheit sells a lot more CDs and sells out larger venues. In part this is the difference between a mega label like Sony and a specialty jazz label like MaxJazz, and in part this is the difference between a model-pretty, pitch-perfect, straight arrow twenty-something and a life-seasoned, note-bending risk taker making her first real mark at 40-something. I find both Marie and Monheit to be compelling artists, as different as night and day.

Finally, and most significantly in comparing a young rising star to a veteran (if quickly ascended) songstress, Rene Marie mostly sings Rene Marie. Jane Monheit sings everyone else, albeit with her own voice. Rene Marie takes risks both on record and on stage, inviting the audience to become part of her life at the moment. Jane Monheit is venturing further with each outing but has not quite left the safe cocoon of cabaret-infused jazz mainstream, such that we know her voice but are just beginning to know Jane's soul--and that she has a passion for every song. I would like to see her move away from her focus on the broad common denominator, delve more into her own musical language, and take a bigger chance on Jane. Having won over the masses, at this point she could probably bring along a much larger following and sell more personal music on a scale that could return jazz to its golden era.

Said Jane Monheit in her Jazz Times interview with Sean Daly: "Whenever someone new comes along, they are compared to everything else and how are they going to affect the industry. It's just the way it goes. And to tell you the truth, I really don't spend much time thinking about it." It's time for the critics and skeptics to close their eyes, forget that face, and just listen to that golden voice.

Upcoming gigs for Jane Monheit:

November 3-4, New York City, at the new Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center (http://www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/fprh/performance.html)

December 3, Los Angeles, at Royce Hall, UCLA (http://www.tickco.com/venue_schedules/royce_hall.htm)

December 7-12, Seattle at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley (www.jazzalley.com)

February 14-20, New York City at the Blue Note (http://bluenote.net)

See her full schedule at: http://www.jazzsingers.com/JaneMonheit/