It doesn't take long to realize that, in addition to being a sumptuous singer, Jane Monheit is a free-spirited, outspoken and supremely confident young woman. This week she celebrates her 32nd birthday and opens the sixth season of Marilyn Levinson's Bay Area Cabaret series.

Monheit is reveling in her new role as mother to baby Jack. "It's changed absolutely everything," she says over the sound of a toddler clamoring in the background. "He is a wild thing, and absolutely loves to be the center of attention. The only thing that hasn't changed is that my husband and I are still touring just as much, and still going to bed late and waking up late. Luckily, our schedule seems to work for Jack. When your job suddenly becomes less important than another major part of your life, in this case having a child, you tend to enjoy it more. It's not a source of stress anymore. Now it's become something that I just feel lucky to do."

Rounding out her first decade as a recording artist, parenthood has also deepened the clarity and conviction that Monheit has in herself as an artist. "I look at everything very differently now. Back then I wanted to be a big star, and it was all very exciting and very glamorous. I worked with people who really told me what to do, who to be, and what to wear. Now I would never work with anyone who wanted me to be anything that I wasn't. I could care less about stardom. It's very much on m

Singer Jane Monheit.

Her newest CD, The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me , is a bit of a hybrid project for her. "The making of the record was really unusual because I did it around giving birth to my son. I won't do that again because it prevented me from fully enjoying both experiences. Giving birth is a major thing. So is making an album. You're putting a precious thing into the world in both cases. Of course, having a child is much more important and much more wonderful. When I have another baby, hopefully in a few years, I'm going to keep it sacred, and not be working at the same time."

Portions of the CD were recorded shortly before Jack's debut. "You can identify the pregnant parts of the album because I recorded all those with my touring band. By the time I was ready to go back into the studio, the record company had totally changed directions. They wanted more contemporary material. I wasn't really in a place where I could start debating with them. We ended up making some really great music. It just wasn't the music I wanted to make at that time. So the album is this really eclectic mix. People have been asking me why the song choices cover a range of about 80 years. The answer is that I disagreed with the record company on the direction of the album, and we really tried our best to compromise."

Compromise is not always the answer for Monheit. A few years into her career, she made a decision to chart her own course as much as possible. "It's a hard thing, especially as a young woman. At the beginning, they were trying to make me into this total sex-kitten jazz Barbie. Now, I love the trappings: the makeup, the shoes, the gowns, the whole thing – I really dig a lot – but they had me overdressed, and there was constant, never-ending negative pressure for me to lose weight.

"Once they gave up on that, it morphed into wanting to make me a crossover success, and everything had to be pop tunes. That really displeased me as well. I like singing pop music, but on my terms, and not to try and gain some elusive audience that is really never going to be interested in me anyway."

Returning to San Francisco, even without her husband and son at her side, still excites. "It's my parents' absolute ultimate happy place," says Monheit of the Bay Area. "On our first real vacation, they took my brother and me there. It was the first time we really traveled anywhere, and the city made this gigantic impression on me. So now, every time I go, I look at the city through the eyes of a 10-year-old. I love it so much."

Jane Monheit, Empire Ballroom, Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Sun., Nov. 8 at 4 & 7 p.m. Tickets ($45): (415) 392-4400, www.cityboxofficecom.