BWW Reviews: MANHATTAN TRANSFER

MANHATTAN TRANSFER, a multiple Grammy Award winning, A cappella meets Jazz Fusion group, known for its four part harmonies including "Birdland," was started by Tim Hauser, MANHATTAN TRANSFER visionary, who passed away less than a year ago. There have been changes to MANHATTAN TRANSFER since its inception, but the incredible music is still this talent's focal point.

As someone who loves 1920-30s music and also heads an A cappella group, I was very excited to see MANHATTAN TRANSFER at Knight Theatre at Levine Center for the Arts. I was taken with Cheryl Bentyne's energy and passion for the songs she was singing, not to mention her magnificent voice. And it only got better from there. Their band included an upright base, base, drums and piano. After the first song, Alan Paul spoke about Tim Houser, passing earlier last year and introduced Trist Curless, who absolutely fit into the MANHATTAN TRANSFER vocals. Throughout this show, the drummer's enthusiasm was infectious and the piano player too, was energetic, often playing two pianos at once to infuse the sound of different instruments.

In one song, Janis Siegel, altered her voice to mimic a jazzy trumpet. I know how difficult it is to vocalize from the back of the throat and she did it better than imaginable. My favorite solo though, was Curless' because mid-song, he had a riff-off with the upright base player lasting eight bars. They played off each other wonderfully. One of Siegel's solos was Latin inspired. The way she sang and how the band accompanied her made me feel like I was back in California at a Latin club. I never heard Latin music performed this well. They also sang a very humorous song making fun of my generation including jokes about cell phones and strange drugs.

As a millennial, born after "Birdland's" success, I had never seen MANHATTAN TRANSFER in person. Their energy and talent surprised me. The style of their music is the hardest to accomplish well. As a person who loves music, listening, I wanted Cheryl Bentine and Alan Paul to be in my family. This was the first A cappella group who sounded as if they could adlib any song. I wish they would have performed more songs A cappella. MANHATTAN TRANSFER is now on tour.

Manhattan Transfer appearing: 3/15-16 Jazziz Nightlife, Boca Raton, Florida, 3/18 Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, Florida, 3/23-24 Catalina Jazz Club, Los Angeles, CA, 4/18 Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN