The McCallum Theatre Plays Host To America's Vocal Jazz Icons, The Manhattan Transfer, 1/19

The McCallum Theatre will play host to The Manhattan Transfer for one SRO performance on Saturday, January 18 at 8:00 pm as part of their stellar Fitz's Jazz Café series. For more than 30 years, Manhattan Transfer has remained one of the most popular jazz vocal groups of all time. The quartet (Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne) is known for their amazing harmonies, acapella and vocalese stylings. Manhattan Transfer has earned multiple Grammy Awards, worldwide sales in the millions, and legions of dedicated fans. In addition, in 1999, the Manhattan Transfer was among the first class of inductees into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Tim Hauser began his musical career in high school in New Jersey and then received a B.S. Degree in Economics at Villanova. While at Villanova, he was in a folk singing trio, The Troubadours Three; the Villanova Singers; and a folk ensemble The Coventry Lads which included classmate Jim Croce. Tim then served in the Air Force and New Jersey Air National Guard; worked for the advertising agency Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell, and Bayles; and later in the marketing department of Nabisco. Tim founded the first Manhattan Transfer in 1969 and made one album, Jukin'. Following the group's demise, Tim worked as a New York City cabdriver and founded the current Manhattan Transfer group in 1972. Tim has produced about half of the Transfer's albums, the soundtrack for The Marrying Man, cuts on A League Of Their Own, and Richie Cole's Hollywood Madness. Tim appeared as Woody the bandleader in The Marrying Man and was featured in the Hugh Hefner documentary, Hugh Hefner, Playboy, Activist, and Rebel.

Alan Paul is a founding member of The Manhattan Transfer and a nine time Grammy winner. He began his professional career on Broadway at the age of 12 in the original cast of Oliver. Born and raised in Newark, he graduated from Newark State College (now Kean University), earning a B.A. degree in Music Education. After college, Alan returned to Broadway in the original Grease, creating the roles of Teen Angel and Johnny Casino. In 1992, Alan received two Honorary Doctorate degrees, one in The Humanities from Kean University, and another in Music from Berklee School of Music along with his partners. An accomplished composer and arranger, Alan received four Grammy nominations for his compositions and another nomination for Best Jazz Vocalist, Male for I Remember Clifford from Vocalese. In 2004, he released a solo CD, Another Place In Time, and is currently recording his new CD, Shoo Bop. He also produced CDs for singer Laura Ellis (Here Lies Love) and vocal ensemble Sounds Divine.

Alongside her career as a founding member, Janis Siegel has released more than a half dozen finely-crafted solo albums and numerous collaborative projects, amassed a large international fan base, and garnered consistently high critical praise. Over the years, Janis' unmistakable voice has become one of the group's most recognizable trademarks. She also gained a reputation as a vocal arranger by writing five of the charts for the group's acclaimed masterwork Vocalese, seven charts for the group's Grammy-winning album Brasil, and won a Grammy herself in 1980 for her arrangement of "Birdland." These days, you can find Janis in the place she loves most, the recording studio, producing various ventures for other artists and singing on a wide array of projects, including JaLaLa, her female trio gearing up for the release of its second CD; touring with her west-coast based trio Alan Pasqua, Darek Oles and Steve Hass; and singing with N.Y. based pianist John diMartino.

Cheryl Bentyne joined The Manhattan Transfer in 1979. Originally from Mt. Vernon, Washington, she moved to Seattle after high school and joined The New Deal Rhythm Band. Cheryl debuted with The Manhattan Transfer on the album Extensions. Her contributions to the group run the gamut from her Grammy nominated solo in Meet Benny Bailey to her portrayal of Lucy in the Blee Blop Blues video to her exquisite voicing of Django Reinhardt's guitar solo on Clouds to Miles Davis' solo on Tutu. Her phenomenal voice has also appeared on Rob Wasserman's album Duets and the soundtracks to Mortal Thoughts and Dick Tracy. Cheryl's talents include composing and vocal arranging. She won a Grammy with Bobby McFerrin for their vocal arrangement of "Another Night In Tunisia". She also co-wrote the lyrics to "Sassy"from The Offbeat of Avenues. She has also released solo albums, including Something Cool; Talk of the Town; Moonlight Serenade; The Cole Porter Songbook; The Gershwin Songbook; Let Me Off Uptown; The Book of Love and her most recent project Blissongs.

This performance of Manhattan Transfer on Saturday, January 19, 8:00pm, as part of the Fitz's Jazz Café series at the McCallum Theatre, is sponsored by Desert Lexus, IW Hyatt Regency, Local TV-2 and KJJZ 102.3-FM. Tickets are $85, $65, $55 and $35 and are available at the Theatre's web site at www.mccallumtheatre.com, or by calling the McCallum Theatre Box Office at (760) 340-2787 (ARTS).