By JILL AUGER
Peery’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden starts a new performing arts series, “The Great Performances Series at the Egyptian.”
The musical group, The Manhattan Transfer, will open the season for one night only — Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The season features 11 events with world-renowned artists from all over the world.
“This will be an evening for all to remember … The incredible sound of The Manhattan Transfer in the intimate environment of the Egyptian Theater will be a perfect combination. We are very excited that The (Manhattan) Transfer will be our first event of the new season,” said David Rowell, Production Manager for Peery’s Egyptian Theater and the David Eccles Conference Center.
The group consists of Tim Hauser, Cheryl Bentyne, Alan Paul and Janis Siegel. The Manhattan Transfer has been together for 26 years, singing all different types of music including jazz, R&B, doo-wop, Brazilian, rock-n-roll and, most recently, the sounds of swing.
“Our signature is clearly four-part harmony,” Hauser said. “We based our voicings on the structure of the sax section of the Count Basie Band, blending soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices.”
The band will be accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra at the Egyptian Theater. They will be performing many of their well-known hits, such as “Boy From New York City,” “Birdland” and “Route 66,” along with material from their newest album.
After winning their first Grammy, the Boston Globe described The Manhatten Transfer by saying “a picture-perfect evening turned out to be pitch-perfect as well … The singers soared and darted to new heights.”
In 1981, The Manhattan Transfer made music history by becoming the first group to win Grammys in both the pop and jazz categories in the same year. Their album, “Vocalese,” received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as the most nominated single album ever.
The group has received a total of 10 Grammy Awards and has released 20 albums, including a children’s album, a live album and a Christmas album. The group even attempted to try their hand at television with a show on CBS in 1975.
