The Manhattan Transfer is a heavenly blend of four voices merged into artful harmonies.  From the  1970's I have loved their singing and looked forward to finally seeing them in person, in their Christmas performance this December, 1999.   Accompanied by some great musicians, they strode out on the stage singing many of the songs from their Christmas album.    (I am sorry I didn't write down  the names of their sax and piano players - they are terrific artists in their own right.)    They also threw in some wonderful swing and standard numbers, such as "Route 66" and "Operator".

I really enjoyed watching the chemistry between the artists and their apparent enjoyment of the music they perform.  It is over 25 years since the group was begun with a chance meeting in a taxi cab that ended with the fusion of the four performers officially being born in October, 1972 and the first album being recorded in 1975.  Since then they have experimented with swing, jazz, vocalese, Brazilian, and the 50's doo-wop styles of music.  Their Christmas album is my favorite for the season.  Tim Hauser formed the group with Laurel Masse, Janis Siegel, and Alan Paul.   When Laurel Masse left to pursue a solo career, they added Cheryl Bentyne in 1978, who is still with them.

I can highly recommend trying out one of the "Best of" albums, if you are not familiar with their music and then experiment with the other albums for the great sounds of the Manhattan Transfer (please note: not all their albums are listed below).  Please look at the Fan Site listed below for biographies and full recordings listings.