The Manhattan Transfer Comes to Concord, 1/24

Acclaimed vocal group The Manhattan Transfer will perform a program featuring songs from their four-decade career of popular jazz hits at Concord NH's Capitol Center for the Arts on Thursday, January 24 at 7:30pm.

The Manhattan Transfer has been pleasing crowds with their four-part vocal performances for more than 30 years. The group, named for John Dos Passos' 1925 novel, "Manhattan Transfer" and a reference to their New York roots, has come from humble beginnings, going from playing in New York City clubs to winning 10 Grammy Awards. After going through several personnel changes, the current Manhattan Transfer group, consisting of Tim Hauser (bass), Alan Paul (tenor), Janis Siegel (alto) and Cheryl Bentyne (soprano), was established in 1978. The next year, the group released their first of 24 albums, "Extensions."

Few groups have a more distinguished musical pedigree than the Manhattan Transfer. Widely renowned for broadening the musical landscape with their innovative, genre defying sound, the Platinum-selling jazz/pop group has won 10 Grammy Awards and earned 17 nominations.

In 1981 they became the first group to ever win Grammy Awards in both Pop and Jazz categories in the same year. Their song "Boy from New York City" (a cover of the 1965 success by The Ad Libs) reached Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and won them the award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Also from the same album, "Mecca for Moderns," the track "Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)," earned them a Grammy for Best Jazz Performance, Duo or Group.

In 1982, the group won another Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for its rendition of "Route 66." The next year, The Manhattan Transfer released the album "Bodies and Souls," shifting to an urban-contemporary style and resulting in two R&B chart singles. In 1985 they received 12 Grammy nominations for their album "Vocalese," at the time making it second only to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as the most nominated single album ever.

For their next album, 1987's "Brazil," the group headed south to work with Brazilian songwriters. The album won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It wasn't until 1991 that The Manhattan Transfer released their next album, "The Offbeat of Avenues," which brought them their 10^th Grammy award for the song, "Sassy."

In 1998, the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Their latest album, "The Chick Corea Songbook," a tribute to the works of American jazz musician Chick Corea, was released in September 2009.

Celebrating more than 40 years in the entertainment industry, the old school hipsters remain a major staple within the music community continuing to create compelling vocal music that draws audiences of all ages and walks of life. London Jazz says that The Manhattan Transfer "wear a ferocious musical intelligence and erudition on their elegant sleeves: they are masters of vocalese, the art of singing new words to improvised melodies."

Ticket prices: Meet & Greet Gold Circle $100, Gold Circle $60, Orchestra/Mezzanine $45, Balcony $35. Tickets are available by calling 603-225-1111, online at www.ccanh.com, and at the box office, located at 44 South Main Street, Concord, NH, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 11am to 2pm.

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