 Riding a wave of nostalgia in the '70s, the Manhattan Transfer resurrected
jazz trends from boogie-woogie to bop to vocalese in a slick, slightly
commercial setting that sometimes failed to gel with the group's close
harmonies. Originally formed in 1969, the 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, and the most talented of
any since the heyday of
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross during the early '60s.
When the group was formed in the late '60s however,
Manhattan Transfer was a hippie cornball act similar to
Lovin' Spoonful or
Spanky & Our Gang. The lone LP that appeared from the original lineup --
leader Gene Pistilli plus Tim Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson and Pat Rosalia
-- was Jukin', assembled by Capitol. An odd and hardly successful satire record,
it was the last appearance on a Manhattan Transfer album for all of the above except Hauser.
After Hauser met vocalists Laurel Masse and
Janis Siegel in 1972, the trio re-formed
Manhattan Transfer later that year with the addition of Alan Paul. The group
became popular after appearances at a few New York hotspots, and recorded their
own debut, an eponymous LP recorded with help from the jazz world (including
Zoot Sims,
Randy Brecker,
Jon Faddis and Mel Davis). Featuring vocalese covers of "Java Jive" and
"Tuxedo Junction" as well as a Top 40 hit in the aggressive gospel tune
"Operator," the album rejuvenated the field of vocalese (dormant since the
mid-'60s) and made the quartet stars in the jazz community across Europe as well
as America.
The Manhattan Transfer's next two albums, Coming Out and Pastiche, minimized
the jazz content in favor of covers from around the music community, from
Nashville to Los Angeles to Motown. A single from Coming Out, the ballad
"Chanson d'Amour," hit number one in Britain. Though Masse left in 1979 for a
solo career,
Cheryl Bentyne proved a capable replacement and that same year, Extensions
introduced their best-known song "Birdland," the ode to bop written by
Weather Report several years earlier.
Throughout the 1980s, the group balanced retreads from all aspects of
American song. The 1981 LP Mecca for Moderns gained
Manhattan Transfer their first American Top Ten hit with a cover of the Ad
Libs' 1965 girl-group classic "The Boy from New York City," but also included a
version of
Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" and a surreal, wordless tribute (?) named
"Kafka." (The album also earned
Manhattan Transfer honors as the first artist to receive Grammys in both the
pop and jazz categories in the same year.) The production on virtually all was
susceptible to '80s slickness, and though the group harmonies were wonderful,
all but the most open of listeners had trouble digesting the sheer variety of
material.
The group's 1985 tribute to vocal pioneer Jon Hendricks, titled Vocalese,
marked a shift in Manhattan Transfer's focus. Subsequent works managed to keep the concepts
down to one per album, and the results greatly improved. Such records as 1987's
Brasil, 1994's Tubby the Tuba (a children's record), 1995's Tonin' ('60s R&B),
and 1997's Swing may not have found the group at their performance peak, but
were much more easily understandable for what they are. Spirit of St. Louis was
issued three years later. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book Manhattan
Transfer for your next corporate or private event.
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