By Jon Bream

After witnessing a curious set of whispery tortured electronica by England's buzzed-about XX, I headed to the Dakota Monday night to see Jane Monheit, the acclaimed New York jazz thrush who is never shy.

In fact, she was downright chatty at her late show. She went on and on about motherhood and her only child, 18-month-old Jack, who, after being at the soundcheck and first set, was now (presumably) asleep at the hotel. She even talked about wearing her hair down (against the advice of her management team) and spending too much time onstage stroking it because it's "so silky and gorgeous." Yes, she does distractingly fuss with her hair more than a Hollywood starlet flirting with a big-time director.

All of which is to say that Monheit, 32, was not as focused and as impressive as in previous Dakota performances. Her voice is more gorgeous than her hair, but only a few times during Monday's late set did she find the focus and create the rapture. She got lost in "It's a Lovely Day Today," a duet with pianist Michael Kanan. She sparkled on "Stardust," swinging it and scatting with aplomb. And her vocal riffing on the jaunty "Cheek to Cheek" suggested her special gifts.

Monheit and her fine trio perform again at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Dakota Jazz Club.