It's hard to believe that a scant seven years have passed since a 22-year-old Long Islander named Jane Monheit -- now renowned as one of the world's most beloved and accomplished song stylists -- signed her first recording contract, for Manhattan's relatively small but enthusiastically supportive N-Coded label.

Her debut album, Never Never Land, introduced the world to two indisputable facts. First, as the cover portrait demonstrated, Monheit is a stunning, raven-haired beauty. Second, as the ten standards that filled the impressive disc made immediately obvious, Monheit, with her crystalline voice and buttery phrasing, was (and remains) impossible to pigeonhole, simultaneously suggesting the smarts of a seasoned jazz artist and the cunning storytelling skills of the finest cabaret performers.

Since then, two of her recordings have received Grammy nominations, she has known the sweet satisfaction of chart-topping success (several of her discs have debuted at number one), done her festive duty with a stunning Christmas album (The Season), and found herself moving to Sony for her two most recent albums, 2004's Taking a Chance on Love and the subsequent yuletide disc.

Now, for Surrender, her seventh album in as many years, Monheit has opted to follow such estimable vocal predecessors as Rosemary Clooney, Mel Tormé, Ray Charles, Curtis Stigers and Karrin Allyson into the artist-friendly fold of the Concord Music family.

But Surrender's strong Brazilian undercurrent extends even further. "I knew," says Jane, "that I wanted this project to focus more on Brazilian music because that's where my life is and where my band is. It's not just me, but the entire band that has been moving in that direction. What's happening with the guys in the band is very, very important to me. Even though I'm considered a solo artist, being part of a band is of utmost importance to me, so we tend to move together in the same direction, and for years we've all being moving more and more toward Brazilian music. I thought it would be a nice idea to do an album of romantic bossa novas and then intersperse them with ballads, so that's what happened."