Janis Siegel (vocal)
Cheryl Bentyne (vocal)
Alan Paul (vocal)
Riding a wave of nostalgia in the '70s, the Manhattan Transfer is best known for their resurrection of jazz trends - from boogie-woogie to bop to vocalese - in a slick, slightly commercial setting. The vocal quartet recorded several albums of jazz standards, as well as much material closer to R&B/Pop. Still, they were easily the most popular jazz vocal group of their era.
The multi-Grammy Award-winning jazz vocal group was officially born on October 1, 1972 - following a previous, less successful incarnation of the ensemble. In 1975, the group released their first self-titled album on Atlantic, which earned them moderate success, especially in Europe. It was not until 1979, with the release of Extensions, that they landed their first domestic hit with “Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone." The record also included the song “Birdland," which became The Manhattan Transfer's signature tune and earned them their first Grammy.
The group continued recording and touring for the following decade and garnered more Grammy Awards, becoming the first group to win awards in both the jazz and pop categories in the same year. In 1985, Vocalese was released and became the group's tour de force effort. Vocalese is the style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. Jon Hendricks, the recognized master of this art, composed the lyrics for the album and it featured special guest, Bobby McFerrin. The recording received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller, as the most nominated single album.
In 1987, came Brasil, a ground-breaking re-contextualization of Brazilian music. The group worked with some of today's most gifted Brazilian songwriters, including Ivan Lins, Milton Nascimento, Djavan and Gilberto Gil. The pieces were re-arranged and re-fitted with English lyrics, which made them strikingly relevant, distinctly American, and “Transfer-esque," while still preserving their Brazilian flavor. Brasil remains one of the group's greatest achievements to date and their first entire album to win the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
The Manhattan Transfer's 2000 release, The Spirit of St. Louis, is a soulful interpretation of the music of Louis Armstrong wrapped around evocative arrangements that are both a nostalgic pastiche from the 1920's to the 1950's.
The group is currently preparing its next album, to be released in early 2003.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
