After the great success of Taking A Chance On Love, Concord Records decided to invest well in the form of an extensive string orchestra to accompany jazz singer Jane Monheit. Especially after the success of her renditions of songs from the classic MGM musicals, her voice is often compared to that of Barbra Streisand. The ballad-filled Surrender contains a blend of jazz standards, edited pop songs
… and bossa nova. Monheit, like Take A Chance On Love, enters into cinematographic atmospheres. Reminiscent of the heyday of Broadway, her voice dances through the full arrangements for the strings, such as on Henri Mancini's Moon River. Except for the piano, the backing band led by her husband and drummer Rick Montalbano plays an extremely modest role. Guests like Ivan Lins, Sergio Mendes and Toots Thielemans are slightly more conspicuous. Should there ever be such a thing as a musical revival, then Monheit has a good chance of many leading roles. (AD)more
