Jane Monheit & Peter Eldridge to Perform at Birdland, 5/30

Jim Caruso is proud to announce the one-night-only musical pairing of renowned jazz vocalists, Jane Monheit and Peter Eldridge, as part of the Broadway at Birdland concert series. The event will take place on Monday, May 30 at 7pm at the historic music room, located at 315 West 44 Street in NYC.

Jane Monheit and Peter Eldridge began their relationship as student and teacher years ago, but have since become musical peers and wonderful friends who love singing together when schedules allow. They have also joined forces on a number of each other's recording projects, but this Birdland outing will be their very first full set together; two jazz vocalists at the top of their game, performing songs from their respective catalogues as well as new arrangements conceived specifically for this special evening.

Jazz vocalist Jane Monheit recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of her remarkable recording career with her most mature, heartfelt album yet, Home, a collection of standards that represents a passionate return to her roots as a jazz musician. The CD features the band she has worked with onstage and off for most of her career, as well as special guests such as John Pizzarelli, Mark O'Connor, and Larry Goldings. Home is her first album for Emarcy/Universal and also marks her debut as sole producer of a recording. An extraordinarily gifted jazz vocalist whose sincere and romantic interpretations of exceptional songs has made her a favorite in both the jazz and cabaret worlds, Monheit has garnered numerous accolades in the past decade. Her first album, Never Never Land, was voted top debut recording by the Jazz Journalist's Association and stayed on the Billboard Jazz chart for over a year. Subsequent albums either charted high, or in several cases, debuted at number one, and yielded two Grammy nominations in the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals category, recognizing the work of Vince Mendoza on 2002's In The Sun and 2004's Taking A Chance On Love.

Peter Eldridge has been called "perennially classy" (JazzTimes) and ranks "in the celebrated tradition of melodic poets, most famously represented by such disparate voices as Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Steely Dan - singer/songwriters who create catchy, beautiful tunes with insightful lyrics that are both personal and universal" (allmusicguide.com). Mr. Eldridge continues to draw on his many-faceted talent as he pursues an eclectic mix of activities, including composing, performing, arranging, recording, as well as teaching (the Manhattan School of Music, head of the jazz voice faculty since 1993). He has released three solo recordings: Stranger in Town, characterized by its bittersweet swing and called the Best Jazz CD of 2001 by Boston radio station WICN; Fool No More, full of Peter's original compositions in a sophisticated pop style, released in the same year (both on the independent label Rosebud Records); and Decorum, a 2005 release of originals. Peter ‘s newest project, the latin-inspired Mad Heaven, was just released this February on Palmetto Records.

Peter is also a co-founding member of the double-Grammy winning New York Voices, which has recorded seven studio albums (including A Day Like This released on MCG Jazz in September 2007). The group has made numerous guest appearances, and toured internationally for two decades, with appearances including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Kennedy Center. In addition, compositions by Mr. Eldridge have been included on albums by other artists: 'Minds of Their Own', written with Brazilian composer-performer Ivan Lins, was included on Nancy Wilson's R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) on the MCG Jazz Label, which won the 2004 Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Album; 'Difficult' was recorded by Cuban saxophonist-clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera for his The Jazz Chamber Trio, a 2005 release on Chesky Records; and Jane Monheit, who was at one time one of Mr. Eldridge's many talented students, features Peter's song 'Surrender' as the title track on her acclaimed 2007 CD and also features the Eldridge duet 'Around Us', based on a James Thurber quote, on her 2003 Encoded Music DVD, Live from the Rainbow Room. Jane and Peter also recorded a duet for her most recent album Home entitled "It's Only Smoke". One of his many choral pieces, simply entitled 'Prayer', was recently recorded by New York City's own Marble Collegiate Sanctuary Choir, on its recording With Many Voices.

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