Solo Work

With The Manhattan Transfer

Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band

Vox Humana

The Multiverse is a philosophical imperative. Vox Humana is the fruit of this musical foray into a cosmos that embraces the talents of a remarkable collection of musicians, as well as the accumulated biographical knowledge of a true American original. Bobby Sanabria may have been born and raised in the South Bronx, but he’s found his calling in the multiverse, and jazz lovers around the world are all better off for it.

— T.J. English, NY Times best-selling author and jazz aficionado

Janis Siegel, Cantor Daniel Kramer, John Di Martino

Mazel

While honoring the strong musical traditions from which they came, MAZEL breathes new life into Yiddish classics through novel arrangements and re-stylings, primarily through Latin and jazz lenses. It features 9-time Grammy winner Janis Siegel (The Manhattan Transfer), Grammy-nominated pianist John Di Martino, and the recording debut of Cantor

Janis Siegel & John Di Martino

Cryin’ In My Whiskey

“It is arguably a risk to combine country and jazz on one album, but “Cryin’ In My Whiskey” effortlessly amalgamates both genres in a setlist of familiar country favorites. Led by Siegel’s powerful vocals, the clear narrative often associated with country music weaves itself throughout the album, creating a great combination of emotions for the listener.”

— Jazz Journal

Janis Siegel

Nightsongs: A Late Night Interlude

2013 release, the 10th solo release from the Grammy-winning vocalist best known for her work with Manhattan Transfer. The album is a collection of late night love songs and features the talents of pianist/arranger John DiMartino.

Janis Siegel, Laurel Masse, Lauren Kinhan

JaLaLa – That Old Mercer Magic

John Herndon Mercer, aka Johnny Mercer, was more than just a lyricist of popular song; he was a true American poet and That Old Mercer Magic! is an amazing new project from three equally amazing ladies called JaLaLa; Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, Laurel Masse´ (an original founding and former member of The Manhattan Transfer) and Lauren Kinhan of New York Voices fame.

Janis Siegel

A Thousand Beautiful Things

The ninth solo album by Janis Siegel — an accomplished leader who is nevertheless most famous for her membership in the vocal jazz quartet Manhattan Transfer — is something that you almost certainly never saw coming: a collection of modern … Full Descriptionpop songs arranged in an assortment of Latin styles. Gimmicky? Willfully bizarre? Amazingly enough, it’s neither. Siegel’s strong, supple voice and her consummate taste allow her to bring something new and often subtly complex to every song, without indulging in unnecessary weirdness. Granted, her gifts aren’t always sufficient to redeem mediocre material: Björk’s “Hidden Place” gives her very little melodic substance to work with, and it makes for an unpromising opening track. But her take on Nellie McKay’s “The Suitcase Song” is much more exciting, and the multi-layered Cuban percussion on “I Can’t Help It” is brilliant. Even better is the Colombian harp solo on her rendition of Suzanne Vega’s “Caramel,” and the multi-tracked background vocals on her arrangement of Paul Simon’s “Love” are breathtaking. There are many more such moments on this exceptionally fine album. Strongly recommended to jazz and pop fans alike.

Janis Siegel

Sketches Of Broadway

It has a more dramatic approach to classics from our favorite musicals, succeeding mostly by picking lesser-known tunes that haven’t worn out their welcomes, and interacting with a stellar jazz cast and the witty arrangements of Gil Goldstein. On the opening track, “Show Me,” her vocals glide soulfully over John Patitucci’s bass and Stefon Harris’ vibes before the pace picks up, Siegel’s phrasing ebbs and flows beautifully and wildly, and the story becomes a little more energetic with its telling. Transfer fans don’t have to wait long for their diva to harmonize, this time with herself on the subtle vocal textures in spots on the softhearted, mystical arrangement of “Sorry Grateful” (from Sondheim’s Company. . .In Jazz). That vibe of mystery continues on Arlen and Mercer’s provocative “It’s a Woman’s Prerogative,” which again allows ample space for Siegel to explore the deeper emotional subtleties. Harris’ vibes are purely hypnotic here. Siegel clearly loves telling stories even the hardcore Broadway fan is less familiar with, reminding us of musicals like Follies (“The Story of Lucy and Jessie”) and The Littlest Revue (“Born Too Late”), all of which allow her to be equally goofy, poignant, and ironic. The showstopper “Sun in the Morning” finds Siegel fully engaged over a heavier Antonio Sanchez drumbeat and the rock-edged guitar of Romero Lubambo. All of this only scratches the surface of the tremendously rich artistry Siegel demonstrates here as she mines classics and obscure songs that touch both her heart and wit. Hopefully, she, like Streisand, will come back to Broadway in the future.

Janis Siegel

Friday Night Special

This 10-song set is aptly-titled, as her singing is accompanied by a quartet anchored by a Hammond organ (played by Joey DeFrancesco) with material that glides easily between jazz and sophisticated pop. The songs draw from a couple generations of writers, from Rodgers & Hart, Cy Coleman and Harold Arlen, to Bill Withers. Siegel’s mellifluous voice is nicely matched with the counterpoint solos of tenor saxophonist Houston Person, making for a classic combo-and-vocalist album that breathes with the very real interplay of all involved. Producer Joel Dorn created a believable sonic setting that is at once warm and unobtrusive, capturing the intimacy of a live setting with the clarity of a studio. –David Greenberger

Janis Siegel

I Wish You Love

This CD features Siegel paying tribute to the New York hit-making institution of the ’50s and ’60s known as the Brill Building, and to female singers. A topflight band accompanies Siegel, including pianist Cedar Walton, tenor saxophonist-flutist David “Fathead” Newman, and trumpeter Tom Harrell. The singer and her soulfully syncopated crew work their magic by recasting tunes such as the Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil gem, “Just a Little Lovin’,” and Toni Fisher’s “The Big Hurt.” Siegel’s sophisticated and sensitive vocals also give justice to Dakota Staton’s “The Late, Late Show,” Etta Jones’s “Don’t Go to Strangers,” and Nancy Wilson’s “(I’m Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over.” Throughout this project, Siegel unveils her own distinctive voice in a number of genres from mainstream swing and ballads to doo-wop. –Eugene Holley Jr.

Janis Siegel

The Tender Trap

Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel swings both blues and ballads on this, her first album for Monarch. What the songs have in common is that they all dwell on the proposition of love, a universal theme that unites material by artists as disparate as Fred Astaire (“Change Partners”) and Muddy Waters (“I Just Want to Make Love to You”). Siegel proves herself an adequate interpreter, despite sometimes falling into that tradition that mistakenly thinks Ethel Merman is as important as Billie Holiday. That is, sometimes the whole routine is a little stiff (especially Hank Crawford’s alto solo on “The Tender Trap”). However, for the most part, Siegel has assembled a fairly good band here, featuring Crawford, Michael Brecker, Victor Lewis, and Fred Hersch (who plays nice understated piano on the album’s opener, “That Old Black Magic,” as well as “How Deep Is the Ocean” and a score of others). While Siegel is no Dinah Washington, she holds her own with most of the material, despite sometimes going off the deep end into swing revival fakery. But as she’s been at it a long while, there’s no need to doubt her authenticity. –Joe S. Harrington

Janis Siegel & Fred Hersch

Slow Hot Wind

Singer Janis Siegel (taking time off from The Manhattan Transfer) and pianist Fred Hersch make for a complementary team on this CD, supporting and occasionally challenging each other. The sources of the compositions they interpret (many are of fairly recent vintage) stretch from Sting and Stevie Wonder to Johnny Mercer and there are quite a few middle-of-the-road pop ballads although Siegel gets to break loose on “Moon and Sand.” But overall this well-played and often impressionistic music is consistently melancholy, a bit dull and often outside of jazz without all that much improvisating taking place.

Janis Siegel & Fred Hersch

Short Stories

Although singer Janis Siegel is best known as a member of the Manhattan Transfer, her recordings under her own name, particularly those made with pianist Fred Hersch, best showcase her abilities. This is their first of several collaborations between the two, and it concentrates more heavily on modern pop songs rather than standards. The haunting bittersweet ballad “Invisible War” (written by singer Julia Fordham) features an emotional vocal by “Siegel” that is enriched by Hersch’s inventive accompaniment. They are just as effective interpreting works by James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell, or Judy Collins. The standards include a moving renditions of “The Meaning of the Blues” and “Never Let Me Go.” Jazz compositions include David Frishberg’s lively “Zanzibar” and Hersch’s lovely “A Dance for Me (Rain Waltz),” which is a bit overdone with an overdubbed backing vocal. This 1989 CD has been out of print for some time, but it is well worth seeking.

Janis Siegel

At Home

Janis Siegel

Experiment in White

The Manhattan Transfer

Fifty

The legendary group celebrates their 50th Anniversary with FIFTY … some brand new songs, God Only Knows their first single, as well as a reimagining of some of their favorites, and all with Symphony!

The Manhattan Transfer

The Junction

An eclectic, brightly attenuated recording, 2018’s The Junction is the Manhattan Transfer’s first studio album since the death of founding member Tim Hauser from a heart attack in 2014. Produced with studio savvy by Mervyn Warren (Whitney Houston, Michael Bublé, Take 6), The Junction is a sleek production, where the Transfer’s laser-tone vocals are framed by warm keyboards, percolating beats, and just enough electronic flourishes to lend the proceedings a contemporary vibe. They kick things off with “Cantaloop (Flip Out!),” a deft rendition of Us3’s “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),” which was itself a reworking of Herbie Hancock’s classic “Cantaloupe Island.” Also compelling is the group’s take on XTC’s “The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul,” in which they juxtapose Curless’ lead vocals on the angular, loungey verses with the group’s diamond-toned, horn section-accented harmonies on the choruses. Elsewhere, Paul shines on the languid, bossa nova-tinged “Sometimes I Do,” and Siegel leads the group with emotive passion through Rickie Lee Jones’ “Ugly Man.”

The Manhattan Transfer

The Chick Corea Songbook

To sing a Chick melody and get inside the mind of a Sicilian/Spanish/Space Genius has been a magical and transformational odyssey, filled with majestic vistas of España, starry expanses of universe, children singing, pixies, leprechauns, love castles and fusion tones that have rattled my bones. I became a lifelong Chick Corea fan when I first heard the groundbreaking album Inner Space, and I haven’t looked back since. The things that have left the greatest impression on me, as we complete this CD, have been the scope of Chick’s musical imagination, his mastery of rhythm, his playfulness, and his restless creative curiosity. I will also treasure the conversations with Chick about his parents, Anna and Armando, which informed the lyric for “Armando’s Rhumba.” Thank you Chick, for all the challenges, the elegant beauty of your writing, and for the opportunity to put our vocal spin on your music.

— JANIS SIEGEL

The Manhattan Transfer

The Symphony Sessions

This collection features rerecorded versions of some of the Manhattan Transfer’s best-known songs, including classics like “Embraceable You,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” as well as their inspired reworking of Weather Report’s “Birdland.”

The Manhattan Transfer

An Acapella Christmas

Manhattan Transfer’s stunningly tight-knit harmonies make a versatile palette for numerous styles of music. Since their emergence in the late 1960s the quartet has tackled post-bop jazz, doo-wop, R&B, adult contemporary, and standards from the American songbook. The Transfer brings all of these styles to bear on their 2006 collection of holiday tunes ACAPELLA CHRISTMAS. Lush, sweeping jazz arrangements grace a re-invented “White Christmas,” while fingersnaps and “oo’s” percolate under a bouncy rendition of “Winter Wonderland.” The album is firmly rooted in tradition, but jazz aficionados will appreciate the group’s challenging, complex vocal harmonies.

The Manhattan Transfer

The Definitive Pop Collection

Flashback Records, a division of Rhino Entertainment, released this album in late 1997 as part of a series of compilations of original artist recordings at a reduced price.