Laurel Massé (born December 29, 1951) is an American jazz singer and former member of
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...
.
Career
Massé was born in
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...
, grew up in
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
, and lived in Europe during her teens. Early in school, she developed a fondness for
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
, particularly
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
, though she also cites the Beatles,
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals, Her grandfather sang with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, and her mother sang opera. Massé started on piano, played cello in her teens, and was her own teacher on guitar during the 1960s. She sang in the choir and belonged to rock bands in high school. When she was very young, her parents took her to see
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 ...
as a birthday present, but Massé was otherwise unfamiliar with jazz until the age of 20.
In 1972, Massé was working as a waitress in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
when she stepped into a taxi driven by Tim Hauser. Massé and Hauser had the same ambition to be singers. Hauser had formed a vocal group,
the Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...
, which broke up after recording one album. Some weeks later, one of Hauser's passengers took him to a party where he met
Janis Siegel
Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is a multiple grammy-winning 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 ...
, another aspiring singer. Then he was introduced to Alan Paul, and the quartet was complete. Massé's background in multiple genres fit the Manhattan Transfer's repertoire of jazzy pop, rock, and swing.
With the Manhattan Transfer, Massé toured worldwide, appeared on TV, and sold millions of albums until a car accident in 1979. Unhappy with life in the group, she considered the accident a providential opportunity to start a solo career. In 1981, she moved to Chicago, and with the help of Judy Roberts, a singer and pianist, she returned to singing in clubs. She recorded her first solo album, ''Alone Together'' (
Pausa
In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pâusis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in ...
, 1984), and toured in the U.S. and Canada.
During the 1990s, Massé lived in
North Creek, New York
North Creek is a census-designated place and hamlet in the Adirondack Park, in the town of Johnsburg, in Warren County, New York, United States. It is an area known for skiing ( Gore Mountain), hiking and other outdoor recreational activities ...
in the
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...
, concentrating on classical and
Celtic music
Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...
. In 1997, she started teaching at the Ashokan Music and Dance Camp, and in 2004 at the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University. She has also taught at
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
and the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
in England. She has been a soloist and member of the choir of the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhoo ...
in New York.
Awards
* MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004
* Bistro Best Jazz Vocalist, 2009
Discography
* ''Alone Together'' (
Pausa
In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pâusis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in ...
Janis Siegel
Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is a multiple grammy-winning 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 ...
and Lauren Kinhan as Jalala (Dare, 2009)
* ''Once in a Million Moons'' with Tex Arnold (2012)
With
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...
* ''
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Coming Out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
'' (1976)
* ''
Pastiche
A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...
, ''
Simplicity
Simplicity is the state or quality of being wikt:simple, simple. Something easy to understand or explain seems simple, in contrast to something complicated. Alternatively, as Herbert A. Simon suggests, something is simple or Complexity, complex ...
'' (1981)
* Carol Hall, ''Hallways: The Songs of Carol Hall'', (2008)
*
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...
, ''
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...