Come Dream with Me

1	Over the Rainbow
2	Hit the Road to Dreamland
3	Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
4	Waters of March
5	I'm Through With Love
6	I'll Be Seeing You
7	Something to Live For
8	So Many Stars
9	If
10	Blame It on My Youth
11	A Case of You

Barnes & Noble

Following the astonishing success of Jane Monheit's 1999 debut, Never Never Land, it was only natural to wonder if this youthful singer, barely out of college, had real staying power. Come Dream with Me provides a resoundingly positive answer to that question. Monheit's strengths are fully in evidence here -- most notably her limpid, refined soprano voice and her heartfelt love for the Great American Songbook -- bolstered by a deeper artistic self-assurance. Monheit demonstrates this at once by kicking off the disc with "Somewhere, over the Rainbow," raising a ghost that few singers would wish to contend with. Defying the odds, she manages to put her own stamp on Judy Garland's anthem, adding some melismatic flourishes and infusing the song with a wistfulness that's just as compelling in its way as Garland's incandescent emotionalism. As on her first album, Monheit has a powerful group of musicians behind her, most notably Kenny Barron, Mike Brecker, Christian McBride, and Tom Harrell.. But Monheit certainly doesn't need to be propped up by these seasoned stars. She is at her fluent best on the album's ballads, which include "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Blame It on My Youth," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "If," the latter enhanced by some artful overdubbing. At the same time, Monheit is clearly making strides in her ability to swing, which she does with an appealing sauciness on "Hit the Road to Dreamland" and a lively bounce on "Waters of March." She concludes the album with another self-confident gesture, covering Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You." Rather than attempting to renovate the song, Monheit offers an almost exact replica of Mitchell's own performance on the classic Blue album, with equally thrilling vocal effects. Call it imitation, call it homage, it's a lovely piece of work, and that's all that needs to be said. And it's followed, unexpectedly, by a snippet of Monheit's take on "Over the Rainbow" at a very early age, her breathy little voice as wobbly as a toddler's first steps. Whether this is meant to evoke a smile or to measure the distance Monheit has traveled, it clearly suggests that she has a wealth of resources that are still untapped -- it will be a treat to watch her do this in the years ahead.-- Philip Koslow

All Music Guide

Jane Monheit's sophomore outing follows in the same accessible mold as her debut, Never Never Land. The young, fairly green vocalist is joined again by all-star musicians, including renowned pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Greg Hutchinson, with Michael Brecker and Tom Harrell making a handful of guest appearances each. Closing the album on a surprising note, African phenom Richard Bona joins for an intimate duo rendition of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You," playing acoustic guitar accompaniment and overdubbing fretless bass filigree behind Monheit's vocal. Monheit's exquisite voice is becoming more seasoned and expressive, particularly on sassier numbers like "Hit the Road to Dreamland" and "I'm Through with Love." She also wraps her seductive charm around Jobim's swaying free-association poem "Waters of March" and takes on two of jazz's grand ballads, Billy Strayhorn's "Something to Live For" and Fran Landesman's "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." The latter, a duet with Kenny Barron, prompts one to compare and contrast Chaka Khan's rendition with Chick Corea on 1982's Echoes of an Era. "Blame It on My Youth," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "Over the Rainbow" are pleasant but less remarkable. (The hidden 12th track, which features Monheit as a child croaking her way a cappella through "Over the Rainbow," is a harmless bit of self-indulgence.) There are a number of textural enhancements that distinguish this album from its predecessor, including subtle overdubbed background vocals, unobtrusive string orchestrations by Bill Fisher, and general arranging input from the superb young pianist David Berkman. With the Joni Mitchell tune and also with "If," a '70s soft rock hit by Bread, Monheit complicates her image as a retro jazz classicist, which earned her some rather severe critical drubbing when she broke onto the scene in 2000. David R. Adler