A hesitant Hanover resident edges to the window of the Hopkins Center box office.
"This may be a stupid question, but -- do you all, by any chance, have any Jane Monheit tickets left?" asks the resident.
When the ticket seller nods, a look of surprise comes over the resident's face.
"Really?" the resident replies.
His disbelief is understandable. Jane Monheit is one of the leading female voices in jazz today, and orders for her show have been flooding the Hop since June. However, patrons are still walking away with relieved smiles on their faces and tickets in hand.
If you've walked by any campus billboard recently, you've probably noticed the come-hither look on Monheit's poster -- the same look that graces her latest album cover. She's hot, obviously. But an interesting fact: she doesn't have any make-up on in that picture. Minus a little computer touching-up, that is Monheit in her plainest form, just how she wanted it.
How could this happen in today's music industry, especially when Monheit works for Sony -- a hugely powerful label? Monheit is a coveted commodity, that's how. After leaving independent label N-Coded music after three albums, Monheit signed with Sony Classical, but only when they offered her complete creative control. Evidently, that control extends to album covers.
Such clout should speak volumes about Monheit's popularity in the world of jazz, a business known for its tough competition and artist-eliminating power. Female jazz vocalists have always had it especially rough.
"Because most jazz singers are women, it's become a thing where we've all got to be the youngest and the prettiest. Well, that should have no business in music. It does, I know. But, that's out of my control. I just want to be known as a musician," Monheit said in a 2004 Philadelphia Inquirer interview.
Monheit's popularity has grown substantially since Sony released her fourth album, "Taking a Chance on Love," in September. "Chance" is not also her first major release but also her first recording experience with Grammy Award-winning producers Peter Asher and Al Schmitt. "Chance" is a release of standard jazz recordings -- exactly what Monheit wanted.
The track list includes such jazz staples as "Dancing in the Dark," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Embraceable You," and "Love Me or Leave Me."
"I needed to make really personal versions of these songs that everybody sings," she told the Inquirer. "It's a challenge because people have heard them so often. How many singers do 'Dancing in the Dark'? I wanted the darkest version of the song I could get -- very ballady."
In addition to jazzy fare, Monheit included "In the Still of the Night" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on her album -- the latter of which was the closing song to the 2004 film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."
Not only has Monheit been marketed as the next Norah Jones, but she's been compared to vocal legends Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Although such highbrow comparisons might seem to invite sharp critiques, critics seem to agree that Monheit has originality to her sound that is rare in today's music industry.
In a 2002 interview with Allaboutjazz.com, Monheit remarked on critics' comments.
"As far as comparisons, nothing new comes along that exists solely on its own," Monheit said. It's always compared to things that have come before because we like to organize things in nice, neat little categories and the singers I'm being compared to are singers that I've loved forever. I find it very flattering."
Besides Fitzgerald and Vaughan, Monheit also lists Diana Krall, Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt as influences. She took vocal lessons at the Manhattan School of Music with teacher Peter Eldridge, who urged her to enter the prestigious Thelonious Monk vocal competition in 1998. When Monheit placed second, her career took off instantly.
Monheit's sound has become more unique as she's gained artistic control over her work; a theater background has made itself clear in her romantic style. Her pop and folk leanings have also made a noticeable impression. Citing Bjork and Stevie Wonder as two of her all-time favorite artists, she also admits to enjoying Britney Spears on occasion.
A New York Times critic praised Monheit's unique style after attending her one of her live performances.
"At her most impressive, gliding up and down the song's melodic groundswell, this putative jazz singer wails with the unguarded passion of someone in the throes of a hopeless romantic obsession," the reviewer said.
And Friday, she'll be at the Hop.
Until then, Monheit's unique approach to jazz classics can be heard on her website at janemonheitmusic.com, or at the Hop website at hop.dartmouth.edu.
Monheit and her Quartet will play Spaulding Auditorium Friday night at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the Hop Box Office for $28, or $5 with a Dartmouth ID.
