Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

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Ron Thorne
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Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Ron Thorne » October 16th, 2014, 7:46 pm

Tim's death hit especially hard since my wife & I had the good fortune to spend some time with Manhattan Transfer and enjoy their spirit and honest, unassuming approach.


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10/16/14
Tim Hauser, Co-Founder of the Manhattan Transfer, Dead at 72
Was only original member still with the famed vocal group

By Jeff Tamarkin

Tim Hauser, who co-founded the vocal quartet the Manhattan Transfer in 1969 and was its sole remaining original member, died today, Oct. 16. Details regarding the cause and place of death are not yet available, but Hauser’s passing was confirmed by the other members of the Manhattan Transfer—Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne—on the group’s Facebook page. That lineup had been undisturbed since 1978 when Bentyne replaced Laurel Massé, injured in a car accident. (Bentyne has been sidelined on occasion during the past few years as she’s undergone treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.)


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Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer



Schooled in classic jazz vocal harmony, swing and vocalese—they were often compared to Lambert, Hendricks and Ross in their early years—the group, named after a 1925 novel by John Dos Passos, was also immersed in ’50s doo-wop, bebop, pop, Latin and world music and other genres. The original lineup—Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Gene Pistilli and Pat Rosali—released its debut album, Jukin’, on Capitol Records in 1971. That lineup, which leaned as much toward the rocking good-time jug band music of the Lovin’ Spoonful as to jazz, disbanded the following year and Hauser grouped with Massé, Paul and Siegel.

That lineup signed with Atlantic Records and released the self-titled Manhattan Transfer album in 1975. Reaching back to 1940s swing but also to the girl group sound of the ’60s and to New Orleans R&B, the album included guest contributions from saxophonists David Sanborn and Zoot Sims, trumpeters Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis and other jazz luminaries of the day.

The group continued to record for Atlantic until the late 1980s, and although none of their albums rose higher than number 22 on the Billboard album chart (1981’s Mecca for Moderns), they did enjoy one Top 10 single in their cover of the Ad-Libs’ “Boy From New York City,” from the same album. That year the group won Grammys in both the jazz and pop music categories. They won a Grammy in the Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group category the following year for their remake of the classic “Route 66.” Ultimately the Manhattan Transfer took home 10 Grammy awards in all.

The Manhattan Transfer was also a consistently popular concert draw and found a foothold on entertainment television.

After leaving Atlantic, the group signed with Columbia Records in 1991 and, in 2003, with Telarc. In 2009 they released The Chick Corea Songbook, a tribute to the keyboardist, on the Four Quarters label. The Manhattan Transfer was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998 and was named best vocal group in the JazzTimes readers poll on several occasions.

Born in Troy, N.Y., Dec. 12, 1941, Hauser grew up in towns on the New Jersey shore, and began his singing career in Asbury Park at age 15 with a doo-wop group called the Criterions that once performed for the legendary disc jockey Alan Freed. In college Hauser sang with other vocal outfits, including one folk aggregation that included future hitmaker Jim Croce. Hauser served in the Air Force beginning in 1964 and took jobs in advertising upon his discharge, before starting the Manhattan Transfer in 1969.

Hauser released one solo album, Love Stories, in 2007.

Hauser underwent spinal surgery in 2013 and was absent from the group’s performances for some time.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Jazzooo » October 17th, 2014, 8:40 am

RIP--they were a big influence of mine for a while, not just for their vocalizing but their arrangements and production as well.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Chazro » October 17th, 2014, 9:47 am

Been a big fan almost from the very beginning. Too sad! I read that Cheryl Bentyne's been feeling poorly also. Sadly, I don't see Tim being replaced so I guess this officially is the end of Manhatten Transfer, one of the greatest vocal groups ever.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Ron Thorne » October 17th, 2014, 3:04 pm

Sadly, this may spell the end of the group as we've known it. Tim was such an essential ingredient that I can't imagine them going on without him.

These four musicians/singers/composers/arrangers are some of the nicest, most genuine people you can imagine. They were very modest, easy to approach and spend time with, and exuded joy.

I'll never forget the special times we shared with them, including a spectacular fly fishing trip I took guitarist Wayne Johnson and singer Alan Paul on, chasing rainbow trout on the world-class Russian River in the Kenai Peninsula. I brought along a lunch of my homemade smoked salmon, sourdough bread, cream cheese & capers, along with a cold Alaskan Brewing Co. beer. We hot-footed back to Anchorage for the evening concert, barely making it in time for Wayne & Alan to grab a bite and dress for the show.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Jazzooo » October 17th, 2014, 5:30 pm

Wayne's a buddy of mine too, Ron. Small world of jazz.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby ValerieB » October 17th, 2014, 11:27 pm

I heard the group not long ago with all the originals missing. and I do mean missing. sadly, they did not sound good at all.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Chazro » October 18th, 2014, 12:05 am

Val - it's too bad you caught them on a bad night. I saw them a long, long time ago (3-4 decades!), up close and personal, in a small theater and they were amazing. Very special.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby bluenoter » October 18th, 2014, 4:50 am

Re the future of the group---the immediate future, anyway:

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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby Ron Thorne » October 18th, 2014, 12:57 pm

Perhaps, at least for the remainder of the current tour, Tim will be replaced (again) by Trist Curless of the Los Angeles a cappella group, m-pact. He filled in for Tim (relatively) recently while recovering from spinal surgery.

Valerie, we haven't heard The Manhattan Transfer live in about ten years, but I can assure you that they were at the top of their game for back-to-back concerts on two consecutive nights then. Sorry that you didn't get to experience that level of performance.

Doug, we've known Wayne Johnson for about four decades, and as you know, he's a superb guitarist. Small world, indeed.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby BFrank » October 18th, 2014, 4:45 pm

Interesting that they're going to continue their tour. They are scheduled to play at the newly re-named Yoshi's SF (now "The Addition") in about a month.

RIP Tim.
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Re: Tim Hauser - Manhattan Transfer - R.I.P.

Postby ValerieB » October 18th, 2014, 7:49 pm

Chazro wrote:Val - it's too bad you caught them on a bad night. I saw them a long, long time ago (3-4 decades!), up close and personal, in a small theater and they were amazing. Very special.


don't feel badly for me, Chazro, as I heard the group in their first and second incarnations many times when they were flawless and swinging. also heard them with Joe Zawinul at the Hollywood Bowl, singing Birdland, which was thrilling.

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