''Vocalese'' is the ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

, released in 1985 on the

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from

Tim Hauser Timothy DuPron Hauser (December 12, 1941 – October 16, 2014) was a singer and founding member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. He won 10 Grammy Awards as a member of The Manhattan Transfer. Early life Hauser was born in Troy, New Y ...

and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's '' Thriller'' as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. The album peaked at number 2 on the

Top Jazz Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

and number 74 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album's title ''Vocalese'' refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation.

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...

, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.

Critical reception

* Allmusic

Awards

This album earned the group

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s for: * Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group * Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices for Cheryl Bentyne and

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

for their arrangement of "Another Night In Tunisia". It also earned Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male for

and

for "Another Night In Tunisia".

Track listing

# "That's Killer Joe" (

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

) – 5:02 # "Rambo" ( J J Johnson, Jon Hendricks) – 3:19 # "

Airegin "Airegin" is a jazz standard composed by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins in 1954. Rollins chose the name "Airegin", as it is an anadrome of "Nigeria". Recording history "Airegin" was first recorded in 1954 by the Miles Davis Quintet and r ...

" (

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

) – 3:19 # "To You" (

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

) – 3:53 # "Meet

Benny Bailey Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey (August 13, 1925 – April 14, 2005) was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bailey briefly studied flute and piano before turning to trumpet. He attended the Cleveland Institute ...

" (

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, Jon Hendricks) – 3:29 # "Another Night in Tunisia" (

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, Jon Hendricks, Frank Paparelli) – 4:12 # "Ray's Rockhouse" (

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Jon Hendricks) – 5:06 # "Blee Blop Blues" (

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

) – 3:01 # " Oh Yes, I Remember Clifford" (Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks) – 3:45 # " Sing Joy Spring" (

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", an ...

, Jon Hendricks) – 7:07 # "Move" (

Denzil Best Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Best was born in New York City, into a musi ...

, Jon Hendricks) – 2:49

Personnel

The Manhattan Transfer * Cheryl Bentyne – vocals, soloist (1, 2, 3, 5, 8), arrangements (6) *

– vocals, soloist (1, 3, 10, 11), arrangements (1) *

Alan Paul Alan Paul Wichinsky (born November 23, 1949, Newark, New Jersey) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and composer, best known as one of the founding members of the current incarnation of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Education Raised in ...

– vocals, soloist (1-4, 9), vocal arrangements (5, 7) *

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is an American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation on Red Bird Records. A ...

– vocals, soloist (1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11), vocal arrangements (1, 2, 3, 8, 10) Musicians and Guests * Yaron Gershovsky – synthesizers (1), arrangements (1), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5), vocal arrangements (5) * Casey Young – synthesizer programming (1) *

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

– acoustic piano (4) * John Barnes – synthesizers (7), Yamaha TX816 (7),

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

(7),

Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1 ...

(7),

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...

(7),

Linn 9000 The Linn 9000 is an electronic musical instrument manufactured by Linn Electronics as the successor to the LinnDrum. It was introduced in 1984 at a list price of $5,000, ($7,000 fully expanded) and about 1100 units were produced. It combined MIDI ...

(7), arrangements (7) * Craig Harris – synthesizer voice (7), programming (7), vocoder programming (7), sampling (7) *

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

– acoustic piano (9) *

Walter Davis, Jr. Walter Davis Jr. (September 2, 1932 – June 2, 1990) was an American bebop and hard bop pianist. Davis once left the music world to be a tailor, but returned. A soloist, bandleader, and accompanist, he amassed a body of work while never be ...

– acoustic piano (10) * Dick Hindman – acoustic piano (11) * Wayne Johnson – guitars (1, 3, 5),

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

(5) *

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Ca ...

– guitars (2, 8) * Ray Brown – bass (2, 8) *

Alex Blake Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr.) is a jazz bass player. Biography Blake was born in Panama and moved to the United States at the age of 7, growing up in Brooklyn, NY. He began his career with Sun Ra in his band Arkestra. He became o ...

– bass (3, 5) * Richard Davis – bass (4) *

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

– bass (9) *

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

– bass (10) * Marshall Hawkins – bass (11) * John Robinson – drums (1) *

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated '' Schoolhou ...

– drums (2, 8, 9) * Ralph Humphrey – drums (3, 5, 10, 11) *

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He was ...

– drums (4) *

Eric Dixon Eric "Big Daddy" Dixon (March 28, 1930 – October 19, 1989) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, flautist, composer, and arranger. Dixon's professional career extended from 1950 until his death in 1989, during which time he was credited ...

– saxophone (2, 7) * Danny House – saxophone (2) * Kenny Hing – saxophone (2, 8) *

Marshal Royal Marshal Walton Royal Jr. (December 5, 1912 – May 8, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years. Early life and education Marshal Royal ...

– saxophone (2, 8) * Johnny Williams – saxophone (2, 8) * Don Roberts – baritone saxophone (5, 11), tenor saxophone (9) * James Moody – tenor sax solo (5) * Danny Turner – saxophone (8) * Richie Cole – alto sax solo (11) * Clarence Banks – trombone (2, 8) * Bill Hughes – trombone (2, 8) * Charles Loper – trombone (2, 8) *

Mel Wanzo Melvin "Mel" Wanzo, also known as Melvin Wahid Muhammad (November 22, 1930, Cleveland - September 9, 2005, Detroit) was an American jazz trombonist. He is best known for his longtime association with the Count Basie Orchestra. Wanzo received for ...

– trombone (2, 8) * Dennis Wilson – arrangements and conductor (2, 8), trombone (9) *

Sonny Cohn George Thomas Cohn (March 14, 1925 – November 7, 2006), known professionally as Sonny Cohn, was an American jazz trumpeter whose career spanned over six decades. After working for fifteen years with Red Saunders (1945–1960), Cohn went on ...

– trumpet (2, 8) *

Johnny Coles John Coles (July 3, 1926 – December 21, 1997) was an American jazz trumpeter. Early life Coles was born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 3, 1926. He grew up in Philadelphia and was self-taught on trumpet. Later life and career Coles spent his ...

– trumpet (2, 8) * Bob Ojeda – trumpet (2) *

Byron Stripling Byron Stripling is a jazz trumpeter who has been a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. Career He was born Lloyd Byron Stripling on August 20, 1961, in Atlanta, Georgia.He attended Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and the Interloc ...

– trumpet (2, 8) *

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of th ...

– trumpet (8) *

– trumpet solo (10) *

The Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 1950 ...

– orchestra (2, 8) *

– music supervisor (2, 8) * Dick Reynolds – arrangements (4, 11) * Phil Mattson – vocal arrangements (9) * The Four Freshmen: Mike Beisner, Bob Flanagan, Autie Goodman and Rod Henley – additional backing vocals (4) *

– bass vocal (6), vocal percussion (6), vocals (6), vocal arrangements (6) *

– additional backing vocals (6), vocal soloist (7)

Production

* Producers – Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer * Recorded and Mixed by

Elliot Scheiner Elliot Ray Scheiner (born 18 March 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations, eight of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, two Emmy Awards for his work with the Ea ...

* Additional Engineers – Craig Harris, Gary Ladinsky and

Brian Malouf Brian Malouf (born September 8, 1955) is an American producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with acts such as Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, Tokio Hotel, Wolfmother, and All Time Low. Also ...

. * Assistant Engineers – Gene Curtis, Dan Garcia, Steve Katayama, Steve MacMillan, Dan Matovina, Tom Size and Jay Willis. * Mixed at Sound Labs Hollywood (Hollywood, CA). * Mastered by

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

Bernie Grundman Mastering Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

(Hollywood, CA). * Musical Director – Bud Schaetzle * Album Coordination – Ivy Skoff * Publishing Coordination – Sue Yahm * Art Direction – Fayette Hauser and Nels Israelson * Photography – Nels Israelson * Management – Brian Avnet

Charts

* US ''Billboard'' 200 – 74 * US Jazz Albums (''Billboard'') – 2

References

External links

The Manhattan Transfer Official Website
{{Authority control The Manhattan Transfer albums 1985 albums Atlantic Records albums