VOCALIST JANE MONHEIT FIRST GOT OUR ATTENTION YEARS AGO WHEN SHE CAME ON THE JAZZ SCENE WITH A STUNNING TAKE OF “OVER THE RAINBOW,” FIRST MADE FAMOUS IN THE MOVIE CLASSIC “THE WIZARD OF OZ.” COMING FULL CIRCLE, MS. MONHEIT HAS NOW CREATED A MUSICAL PROGRAM GIVING A TRIBUTE TO JUDY GARLAND,ONE OF THE TRULY OVERLOOKED VOCALISTS OF OUR GENERATION. UNFAIRLY RELEGATED TO A REPUTATION OF EITHER 1) A YOUNG EARNEST SINGER WHO NEVER MADE IT INTO THE JAZZ CIRCLES 2) A TRAGIC MOVIE STAR AND CELEBRITY 3) THE MOTHER OF LIZA MINELLI, GARLAND HAS NEVER RECEIVED THE RESPECT AND ACCOLADES OF THE HIGH QUALITY VOCALIST THAT SHE WAS, NEVER GETTING RESPECT IN EITHER THE JAZZ OR POP CIRCLES.
MONHEIT SEEKS TO STRAIGHTEN THAT OUT AND FLY RIGHT, TOURING AROUND THE WORLD WITH HER BAND, DEDICATING THE SONG SELECTION TO MATERIAL THAT GARLAND INTRODUCED TO US. WE RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH MS. MONHEIT, WHO HAS BEEN POPPING IN AND OUT OF LOS ANGELES LATELY.
LET”S START WITH THE JUDY GARLAND TRIBUTE THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY DOING. WHEN IS THE ALBUM COMING OUT?
I’m not sure. We just recorded the album in Birdland last week. We just did a live recording here in New York and it hasn’t been mixed yet, so I have no idea when it’s going to be released. Hopefully on the “soon” side!
WHAT WAS THE FIRST JUDY GARLAND TUNE YOU REMEMBER?
Oh, certainly it was “Over The Rainbow.” It was in the Wizard of Oz movie when I was a little kid. I just loved that movie; I think most American kids do. We all love the Wizard of Oz. I was instantly drawn to her, probably because she was also a child. She was only 16.
I grew up watching her movies. Besides the Wizard of Oz, my favorites were Meet Me In St. Louis, and I loved The Harvey Girls and A Star Is Born. The musicals.
WAS THERE A TIME WHEN YOU CHANGED FROM LIKING HER IN THE MOVIES TO ACTUALLY APPRECIATING HOW SHE SANG AS AN ARTIST?
It happened early on, because I’ve always loved to sing and I’ve always appreciated great singers. I was raised to appreciate them. My family, who were all musicians and loved great singers made me realized that there was something special about her early on. And I realized that there was a similarity between her and the great jazz singers that I loved.
Judy could really swing. And she was a storyteller in those days the way great jazz singers are as well. So, there was a lot going on there. She brought her personal experience into her singing and she could swing it with the jazz musicians.
AND YET SHE TENDS TO BE IGNORED THESE DAYS BY BOTH THE POP AND JAZZ CIRCLES
I’m not sure why. I think that maybe people are just too busy putting people into categories. People can be closed minded and want to fit everyone into their own categories.
WHAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR DOING THIS ALBUM
Well, we’ve been doing this show since last spring. The show was just an idea that came up; my agent at the time had the idea and made the suggestion. “Why don’t you think of doing a Judy Garland tribute?” and I said “Yeah! Totally!” So, we put the show together and I took it all over the country. We toured it internationally as well. It’s been a really big success everywhere so we decided we decided to record it.
ARE THERE ANY SONGS ON THE TRIBUTE THAT ARE SURPRISES?
I just picked songs that I really liked that have influenced me over the course of her career.
DID YOU HAVE TO GET ANY SPECIAL PERMISSION FROM GARLAND OR MINELLI’S FAMILY?
No, not at all.
GIVEN HER INFLUENCE AND CAREER TRAJECTORY, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON HER AS A PERSON?
It must have been incredibly difficult for her, if you really take a look of what she went through. She was started on drugs when she was like nine years old by adults around her. She was constantly judged; she was never considered to be beautiful enough or thin enough or any of these things. People never truly, truly appreciated all that was wonderful about her until she was gone because they were so busy judging not only her looks but her behavior. Of course, the whole thing snowballed and it became worse and worse, making it more difficult for her. It’s a long, hard and sad story.
But she did have a lot of joy in her life, too: her children and her music. That’s what I wanted to focus on about her.
DURING THE SHOW, DO YOU TALK ABOUT HER LIFE AT ALL, OR JUST DO THE SONGS?
I talk about her life very little. The show is really more about the music.
WERE THERE ANY ALBUMS OF HERS THAT YOU GOT INTO TO GET A FEEL FOR HER, OR WAS IT JUST FROM THE MOVIES?
I didn’t want to copy her delivery in any way; I’m just trying to be myself. I do like to just listen to her music, just because I love it so much. I have a gigantic 60 song Greatest Hits Collection that I keep in my phone that I keep just in case I need some Judy in the dressing room or something.
WHEN YOU HEAR HER IN THAT CONTEXT, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT HITS YOU ABOUT HER STYLE OF DELIVERY?
Well, there was no one quite like her. I’m drawn to singers like this. Another example would be Sammy Davis Jr. or even Sarah Vaughan. Singers that are able to be so expressive and so swinging and still tell a story but still use their full, full instrument without sacrificing any of that real “singing.” For the real storytelling you’re able to accomplish both at the same time. That’s been a real influence to me.
YOU ALSO APPEAR ON AN ALBUM WITH SASHA’S BLOC. HOW DID YOU CONNECT WITH THEM?
They just called me for the gig and I said, “Yeah. Let’s do it.” The recording was really fun. So far I haven’t done any live shows with them, but it’s always really fun to be a side man for someone else’s project and being part of someone else’s vision. It’s flattering to be asked and it was a really good time. The musicians for the project were super top notch, just killing musicians. So we’re really looking forward to the live gigs in March. It will be a lot of fun.
SO, YOU’VE GOT TWO SHOWS IN LOS ANGELES. THE GARLAND TRIBUTE AT CSUN AND THE SHOW WITH SASHA’S BLOC AT CATALINAS.
And I was just there in LA the week before. I was recording a couple of projects with (pianist) David Benoit. One is a regular album that is still untitled, and the other project is a Christmas album. Both should get released later in the year.
I’ll be doing a couple of gigs here and there with Sasha’s Bloc. (For the Judy Garland tour), I’m not sure when we’re going to end because it’s been very successful. We’re going to ride it out for awhile! It’s the combination of a great band and the songs. I mean, you can’t go wrong with a combination like that.
AND THIS MATERIAL BRINGS OUT THE “MUSICAL” IN YOU, LIKE YOU WERE MADE TO BE IN A MUSICAL.
Well, I kinda wish!
SHE’S GOING TO BE AT CATALINA’S WITH SASHA’S BLOC MARCH 21 AND 22. DON’T MISS IT, AND LOOK FOR HER NEW ALBUM TO COME OUT REAL SOON.