Telarc
2003
Couldn't Be Hotter (Live)
About This Album
Although Manhattan Transfer have released other live albums, the collections were scattershot affairs that mainly focused on their '80s pop experiments or Vocalese-era jazz numbers that never really coalesced into one solid, perfectly performed concert recording. Twenty-eight years after their debut album, Manhattan Transfer finally capture the magic of their live performances on disc with the appropriately titled Couldn't Be Hotter. This generous 16-track collection, culled from concerts recorded at Tokyo's Orchard Hall in 2000, focuses on the pure vocal jazz that initially brought attention to the group back in the early '70s. With the exception of the 1980 pop hit "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone," the Transfer load the program with jazz and swing selections, most of which were featured on their two studio releases Swing and Spirit of St. Louis. The quartet takes command of the stage immediately with Louis Armstrong's "Old Man Mose," as Tim Hauser leads a looser and more exciting version than the one heard on the 78 rpm-inspired Spirit of St. Louis. The Transfer have always been one of the most successful purveyors of vocalese (writing lyrics to fit previously recorded instrumental solos), and Cheryl Bentyne gives a fine example of this art as she deftly sings Jon Hendricks' lyrics in "Clouds," capturing almost every instrumental nuance of the original Django Reinhardt solo.
Track List (try track 12)

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