Track Listing

1. Just Squeeze Me
2. No More Blues
3. Once I Walked in the Sun
4. Some Other Time
5. Cheek to Cheek
6. Tea for Two
7. Love Has No Pride
8. Comecar De Novo
9. It Never Entered My Mind
10. Haunted Heart
11. Since You've Asked

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40810 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .17 pounds

Amazon.com
Having shown off her precocious jazz skills and love for old standards on her commercially eye-opening first two albums, the beautiful young star Jane Monheit is more relaxed and in her element on her third effort, which plays up her appeal as a pop chanteuse. Though she oversells the Eric Kaz-Libby Titus '70s rock classic "Love Has No Pride," and is too young to penetrate "Haunted Heart" (listen to Jo Stafford's 1947 version for some real chills), she brings a fresh vibrancy to "Just Squeeze Me" and "Cheek to Cheek," and acquits herself nicely with a pair of numbers by Brazilian tunesmith Ivan Lins. Best of all is her affecting, vocally pure rendering of Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time" (from the musical On the Town), featuring strings arranged by Alan Broadbent. Her accompanists include bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter Tom Harrell, drummer Kenny Washington, and tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

Don't shoot the messenger - but this is the weakest of her 3
First, let me say that I LOVE Jane.

I've listened to her first two Cds over and over and over and over and...

But this one, Oy Vey...

Maybe it was the pressure to avoid being "pigeonholed" or something, but this one just does NOT do a thing for me.

I love her voice, she really could sing the phone book and make it sound good. But where is the "More Than You Know" or "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" on this one???

I listened to this one ONE time and put it away for 6 months. I just took it out again, on the off chance that I was maybe too passioniate about her first two to judge this one properly...

Sorry to say, but I just don't dig this one anywhere near as much as her other two. Maybe it IS because the first two were so powerful, so amazing, I don't know...

I WANT to like this one, I really do. But I am 8 tracks into an 11 track CD and I only count 2 "keepers". I feel like a traitor, but I just can't recommend this one anywhere close to her first two.

Hanging my head, and hoping her next one goes back to being awesome,

Frank

In the Sun
What can you say? Ms. Monheit has dropped down on us as a fully developed talent capable of singing anything she wants with a sense of total ease. Sold-out at Tanglewood Jazz show last summer ( only her and Sonny Rollins ). Been at Boston Symphany Hall with the Boston Pops for a taped PBS special, 3 CD's, 2 cuts on Les Browns big band, played for a week at the Village Vanguard this summer. Terance Blachard's CD 2 cuts with three other jazz singers.... oh yeah she just turned 25.
Her version of Joni Mitchell's A Case of You is so close to the original that it is hard to tell them apart. (And I've heard them both sung live) Love Has No Pride on this album is equal to the version by Linda Rondstadt. Sentimental Journey on Les Browns Jr.'s Session 55 CD is the best I've ever heard. Her vocal clarity, honesty to the original score (except for the scat at the end), and the fact that it was a live one-take in front of the band at the Capital Studio sound stage shows her versatility and talent.
On stage she is approachable, fun loving, coquettish, a tease, obviously enjoys performing and takes more liberties and is relaxed similar to Diana Krall's style. You don't get much of that on her CD's. Live, she acknowledges that he tries to keep to the original composers intent. However, even doing that she delivers a vocal lesson unmatched by any current widely known artist. Hear her sing three notes on the word "the" without pretense or ackwardness. Unbelievable! Almost every syllable is sung.
After a concert, I asked her about the lack on a Grammy nom. She told me she missed by 2 votes last year. But if she won one in the future she would appreciate it more... no diva here, just talent.
In The Sun features her best selection of songs yet; she went to Brazil this year and loved it - so why not a little Brazillian? She just makes it seem so easy; its like Mike Jordon or Barry Bonds, they're at one level and everyone else plays the game differently. Buy this CD or not, I've got mine and tickets to her show at Harvard this November.

Brilliant Voice, Bad Songs
I have mixed feelings about this album. Jane has an incredible voice, recorded and live, and, up until now, her first two CDs haven't disappointed. But on this one, some of the songs just didn't "click" for me. She is at her best on "Just Squeeze Me," "Cheek to Cheek," "Tea for Two," and the Portuguese "No More Blues." But the title track "Once I Walked in the Sun" is a little boring, as is "Some Other Time." Jane's voice is amazing on all of the tracks, and the orchestrations are lush and moving, but the two entities together fail to pull through on "It Never Entered My Mind," which is so slow and drawn out that it's difficult to make out a complete sentence. "Comecar De Novo" shows off her talent brilliantly, but the music never seems to find a melody, and neither does "Since You've Asked," which sounds like it can be the next Disney movie ballad.

Jane Monheit's voice just keeps getting better, but her choice of songs needs some improvement.