Harmonies Times Two
What an inspired match up!
Two of the most celebrated vocal groups ever,” The
Manhattan Transfer” and “Take Six”, combine their formidable vocal skills
together for a concert called “The Summit”.
Between the two of them, they’ve been awarded 20 Grammy awards.
Janis Siegel, one of the founders of ManTran (as they’re
often referred), “We didn’t want to do separate shows. So, this is real a collaborate effort. Most often, we have 10 voices on the stage at
one time”.
A capella singing is all the rage these days, but Siegel wanted
to make it clear than Manhattan Transfer is not an a capella group. “We’ve always had a trio (piano, bass and drums)
backing us up. We’re harmony singers. We’re singing charts but we do allow for improvisation.”
“Take Six”, is an a capella group with no instrumental
accompaniments. And thanks to “Pitch Perfect” movies, “The Voice” and “Pentatonix”,
a capella singing has found a new audience. Siegel says, “Pitch Perfect has ignited
harmony singing.”
But for Siegel, there isn’t much different between the
two styles. She has always had a great amount
of respect for “Take Six”. “They have a
gospel sound, but they’re pretty jazzy.
It’s like Gene Puerling (vocal arranger from the Hi-Los and other
groups) goes to church. They’re inspiring,
and I’m inspired every minute we’re on stage together.”
For Siegel, who has been singing professionally since she
was 12 with a girlfriend, the key to joy and happiness is singing harmony. She listened to Motown groups such the Four Tops,
Supremes, Temptations as well as the folk singers of the day. Before long, the girls had a manager and were
making records.
“The skill of a harmony singer is consistency. It’s not like the personal expression of a
solo singer. The harmony singer has to know
his or her part and how it fits into the chord, the harmonic structure and how
to blend. The thrill of singing harmony
is like no other.”
She founded ManTran with Tim Hauser back in 1972 and the
group has been going strong ever since.
Their signature close and tight harmonies along with a driving jazz
style created a unique sound that has never been duplicated.
This concert will feature some of their famous tunes like
“Killer Joe,” “Birdland”, “Straighten Up and Fly Right”, and “A Nightingale
Sang in Barkley Square.” They will also
be adding a song by Bernstein in honor of the composer’s 100 anniversary
of his birth.
ManTran and Take Six
have been doing this show for about two years.
“I love doing it, but the process is a logistical nightmare. Everyone lives a different place, and the
charts are hard enough that we need vocal rehearsals as well as staging. But in the end. It all works.”
The Summit: The Manhattan Transfer Meets
Take 6
Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at 7:30
Wharton Center, Great Hall
Tickets from $40. Purchase from Wharton
Center .com,
517.432,2000 or 1 800 WHARTON.
No comments:
Post a Comment