Manhattan Transfer’s Alan Paul on Five Decades of Vocal Harmony

A founding member talks about the group’s history and its enduring appeal The Manhattan Transfer is the most successful vocal jazz group in music history. The 29 albums released by the quartet have sold in the millions. They’ve won 11 Grammys and countless other awards, even topped the Downbeat and Playboy jazz polls for a decade straight. TMT continues traveling all over the world, performing for a large fan base who still flock to see them. Most recently, they toured with the gospel/R&B vocal group Take 6 in a series of popular and critically acclaimed shows. TMT is gearing up for their 50th year together. Jazz critic and historian Leonard Feather called them “without peer as a vocal jazz quartet.” Last summer, The Syncopated Times’ correspondent Brian R. Sheridan had chance to talk with Alan Paul, one of the group’s original members, for an exclusive interview. Paul generously gave of his time to discuss the band’s successes and failures as well as when tragedy nearly caused them to call it quits. The Syncopated Times: Let’s start at the earliest days of The Manhattan Transfer. Tim Hauser had already founded a group with that name but it wasn’t The Manhattan Transfer that we know today was it? Alan Paul: Tim did have an earlier incarnation of Manhattan Transfer in 1968. They were together for about two years and did one album for Capitol [Records] called