The Offbeat Of Avenues
The Manahttan Transfer
© 1991 - Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
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The Offbeat Of AvenuesThe Manahttan Transfer© 1991 - Sony Music Entertainment Inc. |
Tracks • Performers • Album Info • Artist Info • Discography
Cheryl Bentyne 
vocals
Tim Hauser vocals
Alan Paul vocals
Janis Siegel vocals
Jerry Hey trumpet (tracks 2,9)
Gary Grant trumpet (tracks 2,9)
Lew Soloff trumpet solo (track 2)
Bob Sheppard saxophone (track 2)
Peter Christlieb saxophone (tracks 2,9)
Larry Williams saxophone, programming
(track 9)
Richard Elliot tenor sax (tracks 1,3)
Yaron Gershovsky acoustic piano (track 8)
Mike Finnigan B-3 organ (track 9)
Ian Prince synthesizers, programming
(tracks 1,5)
Les Pierce synthesizers, programming
(tracks 4,8)
Don Freeman synthesizers, programming
(track 7)
Gerald O'Brien synthesizers, programming
(track 6)
John Beasley synthesizers (track 2)
Jeff Lorber synthesizers (tracks 2,3)
Chuck Jonkey synthesizers, sitar, ethnic
percussion, recorded jungle sounds (track 10)
Mark Isham synthesizers, programming,
trumpet (track 11)
Bobby Z drum programming (track 7)
Bill Bodine bass, synthesizers (track 2)
Jamie Glaser guitar (track 1)
Herb Pedersen acoustic guitar (track 6)
Jamie Glaser guitar (track 9)
Alec Milstein slap bass (track 2)
Lee Sklar bass (track 9)
Alex Blake bass (track 10)
Harvie Swartz bass (track 11)
John Robinson drums (track 2)
Grady Tate drums (track 3)
John Robinson drums (track 6)
Jeff Porcaro drums (track 9)
Connie Kay drums (track 11)
Hector Vargas zamponia, quena (track 10)
Fran Colon ethnic percussion (track 10)
Angelica Azero narrative (track 10)
Dirty Dozen Brass Band (track 5)
Gregory Davis brass
Efren Towns brass
Kevin Harris brass
Roger Lewis brass
Kirk Joseph brass
Charles Joseph brass
The Offbeat Of Avenues was the first of two albums for Columbia Records and the first Manhattan Transfer album where the majority of the songs were either written or co-written by the members of the group. The album yielded them yet another Grammy, this time for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for the song "Sassy." The song has lyrics by Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne and music by Siegel and Bill Bodine.
Formed 1969, in New York, NY.
Beginning as a down-home jug band, the original Manhattan Transfer disintegrated in 1972, with remaining member Tim Hauser putting together the vocal ensemble that quickly found a cult following on the New York cabaret circuit. The band's 1975 self-titled record charted on both sides of the Atlantic, starting what was to become a tradition in global appeal. Weaving their voices in and out of each other with exquisite precision, the Manhattan Transfer can nail harmonies so effortlessly it sounds like anyone could do it. But as any amateur choir who has tried one of their arrangements will tell you, there's talent in them there voices. Working from the scat-singing solo tradition Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald built, the group has covered pop, swing, gospel, and rock. The underlying current--which explains the band's Grammy-winning success at least as much as its musicianship--is nostalgia. (Atlantic, 1982); At Home [Rating: 2.5] (Atlantic, 1987)
Source: MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening
Weaving their voices in and out of each other's with exquisite precision, the heavily swing-influenced Manhattan Transfer nail harmonies so effortlessly it sounds like anyone could do it. Amateur choirs spend hours trying to work out vocal arrangements by the Manhattan Transfer, in the end making the inevitable conclusion: there's gold in them there voices--eight Grammys' worth, to date. Beginning as a down-home jug band, the original Manhattan Transfer disintegrated in 1972, with remaining member Tim Hauser putting together the vocal ensemble that quickly found a cult following on the New York cabaret circuit. The band's 1975 self-titled record charted on both sides of the Atlantic, starting what was to become a tradition in global appeal. Working from the Louis Armstrong-Ella Fitzgerald scat-singing tradition, the group has covered pop, swing, jazz, and rock. the group loose on swing-era orchestral numbers. "A Tisket, a Tasket," an arrangement inspired from a 1938 Chick Webb recording, morphs Ella Fitzgerald's talent with Webb's orchestral style and results in one of the best numbers the band has ever recorded. Vocalese [Rating: 4.0] (Atlantic, 1985, prod. Tim Hauser), the word for a style that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumentals, racked up 12 Grammy nominations and won two. On it, the group rocks up Ray Charles's soulful piano stomp "Ray's Rockhouse," along with the catchy "That's Killer Joe," and the intricately playful "Another Night in Tunisia," with Man of 10,000 Sounds Bobby McFerrin joining on vocals. All the lyrics were penned by vocalese master Jon Hendricks. The Manhattan Transfer [Rating: 4.0] (Atlantic, 1975/1987, prod. Tim Hauser, Ahmet Ertegun) offers "Java Jive," an easy-listening tribute to coffee, as well as the down-on-your-knees gospel number "Operator," and the swinging "Tuxedo Junction." This record captures the group in straightforward confidence before it became hugely popular and started experimenting with the entire musical spectrum.
Source: MusicHound Swing: The Essential Album Guide
Over the course of its 25-plus-year career, the Manhattan Transfer has become one of the most popular and acclaimed vocal ensembles in contemporary music. Its repertoire spans jazz, pop, swing, R&B, Brazilian, and doo-wop styles, which the four members perform with ease and high style. The group has earned numerous platinum and gold albums, as well as eight Grammy Awards (group members Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne have also won a Grammy apiece for their arrangements of various tunes). The group also won "Best Vocal Group" honors for 10 years straight--from 1980 to 1990--in the annual Down Beat and Playboy jazz polls. It won Playboy's poll again in 1992. Taking its name from a 1925 novel by American author John Dos Passos, the Manhattan Transfer was founded in 1969 by Tim Hauser, along with guitarist Gene Pistilli. In 1971 the band released the album Jukin', but the group dissolved the following year, and Hauser took a job driving a cab in New York City. One day his fare was aspiring singer Laurel Masse and she and Hauser decided to form a group. At a party, Hauser met Janis Siegel, then a member of a folk group called Laurel Canyon. They then met Alan Paul, who was starring on Broadway in the musical Grease. The new group decided to arrange its vocals as if the four voices were the saxophone section of the Count Basie Big Band, and the Manhattan Transfer performed its first concert in June 1973. That line-up recorded four albums, but in 1978 Masse was injured in a car accident and during her recovery she decided not to rejoin the group. Masse was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne, at the time a successful singer in her native Washington. This line-up remains intact. Tim Hauser) is an example of vocal virtuosity. The group set jazz standards to lyrics penned by singer and longtime collaborator Jon Hendricks, using vocals to approximate instrumental solos. The recording sparkles with invention, and standout tracks include "Another Night in Tunisia" with guest appearances by Bobby McFerrin and Hendricks, and "Sing Joy Spring" featuring a solo by Dizzy Gillespie.
Source: MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide
Personnel
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