The Manhattan Transfer

The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal group founded in 1969, performing a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. The group has won eleven Grammy Awards.

There have been several incarnations and formations of the Manhattan Transfer, with each edition having different styles, with original member Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of each of them.

The first and original rendition was in the 1960s, consisting of a mostly a capella tinged style; it featured Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalia, and Gene Pistilli. The second version of the group, formed in 1972, incorporating a more vocal jazz approach, consisted of Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé.

The third, and most commercially perceived, formation of the group happened in 1979, after Massé left the group after being badly injured in a car crash and was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. This edition of the Manhattan Transfer performed electronic-styled pop, soul, funk, and rhythmic music, having success in the 1980s.

The group’s fourth, and current, edition, since the 1990s, originally consisted of Hauser, Paul, Siegel, and Bentyne, and performs mostly cool and smooth jazz. It also has several rotating touring members, and longtime pianist Yaron Gershovsky accompanied the group on tour and served as music director. Trist Curless from the Los Angeles a cappella group m-pact became a permanent member in October 2014 following Hauser’s death.

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