As her star has skyrocketed over the past several years, Jane Monheit has become vocal jazz's most promising torchbearer, preserving the art form for another generation and sharing the many beauties of the music with younger audiences who might otherwise miss it. Her latest show at Cafe Carlyle features a fine mix of classic and contemporary songs, with an emphasis on Brazilian bossa nova rhythms performed in their original Portuguese.

Monheit doesn't sing music so much as revel in it, immersing herself completely in each song and letting the emotion pour forth from her. The language seems less important than the feeling, and even if the song is not in English, its meanings are perfectly clear. A small catch in the throat, a sigh, a soft purr - these sounds are universal, and Monheit speaks them fluently, beautifully conveying a world of emotion in each note. In the instrumental breaks in slow numbers, she sways along with the music as though drifting on a stream. For the more up-tempo songs, she - for lack of a better term - rocks out, merrily dancing through the (somewhat limited) space to the hot rhythms, joyously sharing her love of the music and infecting the audience with her enthusiasm.

Backed by a five-piece band (Michael Kanan on piano, Orlando LeFleming on bass, Ari Ambrose on sax, Miles Okazaki on guitar and Rick Montalbano on drums), Monheit seems completely at home on the Carlyle stage, where she also performed last year. Her song list runs a wide gamut of styles, from an intense "Alfie" (and how often is that sung in cabarets?) to an exuberant "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder to a passionate "Moon River" that emphasizes the longing of the lyrics. The two Portuguese songs, "Caminhos Cruzados" and "So Tinha De Ser Com Voce," are fun and exciting, and allow Monheit to indulge in the exotic. Her rendition of Annie Ross and Wardell Gray's "Twisted" is bright and bouncy; Ross could not ask for a better heir to the art of "vocalese."

Indeed, aficionados of classic and modern jazz everywhere can rest easy whenever Monheit takes the microphone. The art form is clearly in good hands. She sings with the poise and confidence artists twice her age would envy, and, hearing her, it is easy to imagine what audiences must have felt watching Anita O'Day's or Rosemary Clooney's stars rise. Jane Monheit has plenty of star quality, and has already earned the devoted following necessary for a top artist. This concert at the Carlyle, which runs until the end of March, should do plenty to endear her to many new fans.

Jane Monheit is at Cafe Carlyle through March 31.

Tesse Fox
Cabaret Scenes
March 6, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org