Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A trio of jazz divas light up Birdland: JANE MONHEIT, GABRIELLE STRAVELLI, and The Hot Sardine’s ELIZABETH BOUGEROL

• By drediman
• December 23, 2025
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This past fall at Birdland, it was my pleasure to be enchanted by a trio of jazz divas, each of whom effortlessly regaled audiences with their distinct vocal prowess and winning personalities. Here’s a look back at their recent appearances at the beloved Midtown jazz club, each of which lit up the stage with their own brand of musical excellence.

JANE MONHEIT

Jane Monheit is the real deal, which she made abundantly clear in her recent stint at Birdland Jazz Club this December (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Combining a naturally luscious and meticulously controlled voice with a sensuous stage presence, the singer is one of the few talents who can captivate a room comprised of both serious jazz aficionados and casual audience members. Her intrinsic glamor and the easygoing quality of her shows all point to an artist who has matured from merely a head-turning young vocalist to a sophisticated chanteuse with ample life experiences to draw from, inviting listeners to revel in the artistry of her interpretive stylings. Indeed, it’s always a pleasure to experience songs from Monheit’s nuanced perspective, which have brought vivid new life to songs such as “On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)”, “In a World of My Own”, and (most fascinatingly) Sondheim’s “Green Finch and Linnet Bird”. Given the holiday season, she also threw in wonderfully jazzed up versions of “Winter Wonderland”, “Silver Bells”, and “Christmastime Is Here”. Throughout the evening, Monheit exhibited utter confidence in her considerable abilities, especially as symbiotically supported by her longtime band, including her husband, drummer Rick Montalbano.

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI

Another jazz singer who has only gotten better with age is the great Gabrielle Stravelli, a longtime regular at Birdland and a particular favorite amongst cabaret fans for her astonishing reliability as a singer and overall entertainer. During her December residency at the venue (RECOMMENDED), she once again delighted audiences with her spot on musical instincts and uncomplicated pleasantness. If not quite the seductive performer that Monheit is, Stravelli brings a sunny tone and disposition to the nightclub scene. Most notably, her performances of late have exhibited richer emotional resonance than they have in the past. Mining the trove of gems that is the American Songbook, her recent Birdland stint saw the award-winning singer more consciously balancing her vocal exuberance — e.g., her ecstatic scatting — with emotionally naked ballideering. The latter was particularly evident in her intensely lyrical and boldly straightforward rendition of “Out of My Dreams” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (also from that landmark show was a winsome take on “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” with longtime collaborator Pat O’Leary on bass). At the performance I attended, she covered the major songwriters of the canon — Johnny Mercer (“And the Angels Sing”), Jerome Kern (“Nobody Else But Me”), Howard Arlen (“A Sleepin’ Bee”), Cole Porter (“At Long Last Love”), Burton Lane (“I Like New York in June”), Irving Berlin (“All By Myself”), and Lerner and Loewe (“On the Street Where You Live”).

ELIZABETH BOUGEROL (OF THE HOT SARDINES)

Attending shows by The Hot Sardines is always a party — complete with tap dance numbers that double as musically meaningful percussion — and a musical journey through the annals of music, which was clearly the case during their sold out fall shows at Birdland (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). At the heart of their eclectic yet musically refined performances is vocalist Elizabeth Bougerol, one of the artistic directors of the increasingly popular jazz outfit. What distinguishes the self-possessed Bougerol is the fact that she’s a music historian and teacher as much as a top notch jazz vocalist. Her obvious love for the genre is infectious, and it’s hard not to fall under the spell of her enthusiasm and come away from the band’s shows fully content and satisfied on different levels. Their November performances at Birdland found Bougerol and her ensemble at the peak of their powers. Some highlights from these shows included impressively assured, superbly arranged renditions of “Love Potion Number Nine”, Bessie Smith’s “After You’ve Gone”, “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall” (utilizing the Quincy Jones arrangement), Sophie Tucker’s “Some of These Days”, and Cole Porter’s “Don’t Fence Me In”. The band’s encore was a rousing “Bei Mir Bistu Shein”, which sent the audience out into the night on a high.