Surrender

Jane Monheit | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B000N0U2UA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,063 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jane Monheit has a lovely voice, one that in its purest, most lilting form reminds you of the young Barbra Streisand, with the show-stopping qualities that suggests. Her haunting rendition of Sergio Mendes'"So Many Stars," the runaway highlight of Surrender, is also one of the best things she's ever done. (Mendes arranged and produced the track and plays keyboard on it.) Since she stopped trying so hard to be a jazz singer and found her mark as a popular vocalist specializing in Brazilian music (there are also guest turns by singer Ivan Lins and harmonica great Toots Thielemans), Monheit has sounded more at home with herself. The problem is, as delectable as her instrument is, her performances, more often than not, have a perplexing emptiness to them: they're like romantic settings with candles providing the requisite glow but no real warmth. She's only 29, which means she has plenty of time to deepen as an artist. But it could also be that what you hear now is what you're going to get in the future. --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description

Includes the bonus track "Surrender" (Long Version). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Folks listen to RC, his review is a laser beam on target. Statement album needed badly., June 9, 2007

By 

leftypockets "leftypockets" (Boston , MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surrender (Audio CD)

My small addendum. Monheit has the best voice in jazz today. I'm a 5 year fan.
On stage 3 weeks ago in Boston with her band she was great. But she badly needs a statement album - one that defines her and her talent. She has been with at least 3 labels and I think that they have been pulling this immensely talented singer in too many directions. Her vocal breadth is so extraordinary and she can do so much vocally that she ends up doing a little of everything well but her albums are not cohesive sounding. They sound watered down and undefined. You never know what you are going to get from song to song and it's been getting worse on the newer albums. I was hoping with the change to a Jazz label like Concord that this would be behind her but not yet. What are those A&R types doing? I even congratulated here on her new label after the show and there was an unstated acknowledgment that her and Sony were not a good fit. Like RC I hope the next CD is great, because I'm running out of patience after 7 CD's and several other tracks on various artists albums and 6 live shows. She is t o o good t o o waste. So how about it producers? - Give us some jazz, give us some swing. Give us the real Jane and get rid of the strings.

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crystal-clear perfection..., May 1, 2007

By 

Ruth Anderson "Book Reviewer" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surrender (Audio CD)

Surrender, Jane Monheit's seventh release and her first with Concord Records finds the velvet-voiced chanteuse in top vocal form, interpreting a selection of pop songs and standards woven together with dreamy bossa nova rhythms. I was a little concerned about what direction Monheit's recording career would take after she departed Sony, where she released Taking a Chance on Love and The Season. The former is an absolutely sublime collection of standards from MGM musicals, while the latter, a Christmas disc, contains moments of brilliance but stylistically is somewhat disjointed and quite frankly a bit of a mess style-wise. She's a great singer who seems to struggle with finding her musical "niche." With Surrender, Monheit moves away from the straight pop-jazz style of Taking a Chance on Love, and returns to the Brazilian-influenced, bossa nova style pop that was often evident on her first three albums for the N-Coded label. It's a shrewd move and a successful one given the resulting album. Surrender is so utterly lovely, lush and romantic and seamlessly constructed, it reminds me of the classic Brazilian-style concept album Frank Sinatra recorded with the inimitable Antonio Carlos Jobim forty years ago. Given that it is fitting that on Surrender Monheit puts her own spin on two of Jobim's compositions -- "So Tinha De Ser Come Voce" and "Caminhos Cruzados" (the latter featuring Toots Thielemans accompanying her on the harmonica). She turns in an absolutely stunning version of "Moon River" -- Monheit at once makes the song both a tribute to the original version and entirely her own with her pitch-perfect, wistful interpretation. There is a gorgeous duet with Ivan Lins on his composition "Rio De Maio." Monheit's also accompanied by composer Sergio Mendes on "So Many Stars," one of my favorite tracks. Other standouts include the beautiful, lyrical "If You Went Away," "Surrender," which shows off Monheit's vocal range, her re-invention of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed," and the elegant simplicity of Johnny Mandel's "A Time for Love." Target is selling Surrender with a bonus track, "The Shining Sea."

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars R & R Bossa Nova, April 18, 2008

By 

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Surrender (Audio CD)

R & R Bossa Nova is a musical phrase I coined to classify some of the CDs from my collection ... it stands for Refreshing and Relaxing Bossa Nova music. This CD, "Surrender" is a fitting example for it contains quite a lot of Brazilian-infused numbers that are absolutely enchanting and very pleasing to the ears.

Sergio Mendes, Ivan Lins, Toots Thielemans, Vince Mendoza and Jorge Calandrelli are some of the most trusted names when it comes to exquisite music - their presence in this recording adds beauty, brilliance and timeless appeal that most listeners often look for in an album.

What makes this disc so special? Jane Monheit's impeccably refreshing, relaxing and soothing renditions; tasteful choice of material from the pens of Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Sergio Mendes, Johnny Mandel, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Stevie Wonder, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, among others; sublime musicianship from a fine group of studio musicians that include pianist Michael Kanan, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, drummer Rick Montalbano (Monheit's husband), saxophonist Ari Ambrose, just to name a few; a lush string orchestra; and more importantly, Vince Mendoza's arrangements and Jorge Calandrelli's grand orchestral charts.

The Bossa Nova charmers include "Caminhos Cruzados" featuring Toots Thielemans on a stunning extended harmonica solo, an enthralling duet with Ivan Lins, "Rio De Maio" and "So Tinha De Ser Con Voce." The tasteful repertoire wouldn't be as wonderful as it is without "Moon River," "A Time For Love," "Overjoyed" and "Alfie," the track that spotlights Monheit's impressive vocals accompanied only by the romantic sound of Michael Kanan's piano.

Monheit is at her most gentle and relaxed mood in "Like A Lover" treating the lyrics like the delicate petals of pink roses. "So Many Stars" is breathtakingly beautiful! It features on piano its famed composer and Bossa Nova icon Sergio Mendes, whom I've met at his 40th anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl over a year ago. Its lovely arrangement is based on the original chart recorded by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 entitled Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Greatest Hits.

Who could better interpret "If You Went Away" with heartfelt emotion and tender perfection? She aced it and made it her own. This track is such a beauty from the first note to the last.

"My world is safe and it's worth living for
Even more with you
I've learned to treasure each moment of time
You've even taught me how high love can climb"

If you will listen closely with undivided attention to each track focusing not only on Monheit's vocals, but also the arrangements, instrumentations especially the solos, you'll agree with me that this is by far her best offering.

A gem of a CD. With my heartfelt recommendation.