The Manhattan Transfer: Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)
[purchase]
If you saw my posts for our Joni Covers week, or if you’ve looked at Oliver di Place recently, you know that I love jazz singing. If you’ve heard of The Manhattan Transfer, you may remember The Boy From New York City, and wonder why I’m bringing this up. But The Manhattan Transfer was the group that introduced me to jazz vocals, and they have done quite a bit of it in the course of their career.
In high school, I sang in the choir, and the conductor, who was used to non-musical kids who took the class for an easy grade, was happy to have a bass who took it seriously. When one of the basses in the elite choir broke his leg in a skiing accident with a concert coming up, I got the call. The first piece we worked on was Java Jive. I wanted to find a recording of it, and that’s how I found The Manhattan Transfer. I was hooked, and I was still following their career when they got around to recording this one. Until I Met You is often recorded as Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, while Corner Pocket was a standard for Count Basie back in the day. Together, they form a love story, told from both sides of the relationship. I would like to dedicate this one to my wife Janice, on this our anniversary.