Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Manhattan Transfer: Couldn

275

The Manhattan Transfer: Couldn

By

View read count
The Manhattan Transfer: Couldn
The ManhattanTransfer, collectively consisting of Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, Cheryl Bentyne, and Tim Hauser, has been performing as a unit for more than 30 years. As a vocal group, they offer a lighthearted foil to Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. The Transfer has always been more pop-oriented than smiled upon by the jazz community. They were never afraid to include novelty tunes and rock influence in their fine performances. But still, the group has retained a smart hipster’s identity and has made high caliber music for the better part of their run.

After having recorded for Atlantic since the mid-1990s, the group jumps to Telarc and kicks things off with this live set recorded in Tokyo in late 2000. On the whole the group remains this side of bebop, opting for a program of traditional jazz and swing tunes, as well as a generous smattering of Armstrongtonia.

Pops looms large over the Transfer’s concert landscape on Couldn’t Be Hotter. "Old Man Mose," and "Up a Lazy River" were both Armstrong vehicles. "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans" and "Stars Fell On Alabama " round out the Satchmo lovefest. "Blue Again" is seasoned with Wayne Johnson’s slide guitar, providing a rich stew of influences, including Chicago Jazz and Doo Op. "Nuages" is full of whimsy and fun, bragging Jon Hendricks-penned lyrics over Django’s peerless melody. Saxophonist Larry Klimas’ contributions to especially "Sugar" and "Stompin’ At Mahogany Hall," are effervescent and humid all at once.

"Nothing Could Be Hotter Than That," "It’s Good Enough To Keep," and "Don’t Let Go" span the considerable breadth of the Transfer’s capability, amply demonstrating the group’s ability to sing double-time. Winding it down, "Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone" is pure entertainment. Perfect bliss comes through on the closer, eight minutes of "My Foolish Heart." Ensemble singing may not get any better.

Track Listing

Old Man Mose; Sing Moten

Personnel

Alan Paul; Janis Siegel; Cheryl Bentyne, Tim Hauser

Album information

Title: Couldn | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Telarc Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante
All In Motion
Dave Redmond
Cat & The Hounds
Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine...

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.