Manhattan Transfer offers harmony to Jakartans
Manhattan Transfer offers harmony to Jakartans
JAKARTA (JP): After 24 years in the world of music, one of American's best-known vocal groups, the Manhattan Transfer, is still in command of its solid and highly aesthetic vocal technique.
They proved it in front of their fans last Wednesday night at the Golden Ballroom in the Jakarta International Hilton Hotel.
Wearing off-white costumes, the quartet of Cheryl Bentyne, Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, and Janis Siegel opened their single-night concert in Jakarta with Let's Hang On by Smokey Robinson. The audience gave little response until the group launched into Boy from New York City, Operator, Java Jive, Birdland, Trickle- Trickle from their early album Extension and some of their newer tunes The Manhattan Transfer Meets Tubby the Tuba and Tonin.
In Java Jive, the quartet showed off their skills by harmonizing to the drums and saxophone. Inspired by a cup of Javanese coffee, the tune of Java Jive mesmerized most of the audience who paid between Rp 100,000 and Rp 350,000 for tickets.
"Entertaining, harmonious voices and consistent," said a local musician who sat in the front row. For many local music lovers, the music of the Manhattan Transfer became popular in the early l980s, when vocal groups were mushrooming in Indonesia.
The influence of the Manhattan Transfer's music on local vocal groups was clear. Take for example the Bandung-based vocal group The Elfa's Singers or the Chaseiro group, who adopted the Manhattan Transfer's acapella style.
The Manhattan Transfer also entertained their admirers in Surabaya, East Java, where they received a standing ovation for their performance on April 2.
Manhattan's concerts in Indonesia, organized by Buena Produktama, were part of their Asian tour to promote their latest album Tonin.
"Our signature is clearly four-part harmony," noted the group's leader Hausers. "We base our voicings on the structure of the sax section of the count Basie band, blending soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices," he added.
Over 24 years, the group produced 19 albums. Their album Extensions, earned them their first domestic pop hit Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone. The album also featured Birdland, the piece that has since become the Manhattan Transfer's signature tune. Birdland brought the group their first Grammy Awards as Best Jazz Fusion performance, and the award for Beat Arrangement for Voice.
In l981, the Manhattan Transfer made music history by becoming the first jazz group to win Grammies in both the pop and jazz categories.Boy From New York City garnered them the award for Best Pop Performance and Until I Met You earned them a Grammy for Best Jazz Performance.
It was the 1985 release of Vocalese, produced by Tim Hauser, that became recognized as the group's tour de force. The album received 12 Grammy nominations and won two categories as Best Jazz Vocal Performance and Best Arrangement for Voices for the group's vocalists Cheryl Bentyne and Bobby McFerrin.
In the winter of 92, the Manhattan Transfer released The Christmas Album featuring classic songs such as Silent Night, The Christmas Song and Good night.
Two years later, the group came out with a children's album called The Manhattan Transfer Meets Tubby the Tuba, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Album for Children. Accompanied by the Naples Philharmonic, the group delivered the album's important message: "Be yourself, you can't be anybody else." (raw)