Jane Monheit

New motherhood may have inspired Monheit to record "Rainbow Connection," the Muppet heartbreaker, but most of this material is aimed squarely at sophisticated adults. The one-time Long Island Lolita kicks things off with a Corinne Bailey Rae cover before she goes all the way back to "Something Cool" and "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," two classics of the Beatnik era. Gil Goldstein penned the slinky charts, though pianist Michael Kanan notches up the excitement level with a jazzy reading of "Get Out Of Town" that has Monheit merrily refusing to let her lover leave.