The Manhattan Transfer: 50th Anniversary & Final World Tour

Beginning with their first performances in the early 1970s, the Manhattan Transfer have become the cornerstones of contemporary music. Launched in 1969 by Tim Hauser, they made their recording debut with a self-titled album in 1975 and garnered attention for their amazing harmony and versatility, incorporating pop, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, swing, symphonic and a cappella music. The group expanded their following on the same year by starring in their own TV variety series as a summer replacement for The Sonny & Cher Show.

Defying easy genre categorizations, the Manhattan Transfer became the first act to win GRAMMY® Awards in the pop and jazz categories in one year (1981) for “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” and “Best Jazz Performance Duo or Group.” In 1985, their album “Vocalese” made history as the single greatest GRAMMY® nominated album, officially winning two out of 12 GRAMMY® nominations. This album—which featured jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Ron Carter and the Count Basie Orchestra—changed the perception of the Manhattan Transfer, from superstar pop artists to formidable jazz singers.

While celebrated for their spectacular re-imaginings of classics like “Java Jive,” “Birdland,” “The Boy From New York City,” “Twilight Zone,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” and “Route 66,” one of their most acclaimed albums was “The Offbeat of Avenues” (1991), which featured numerous originals amidst cover songs. Their newest release, “The Junction” (2018), harkens back to that approach with the members writing or co-writing five songs.