The Manhattan Transfer was one of the biggest acts of the late 1970s. A jazz vocal group inspired by the swing and bebop sounds of bygone outfits like the Andrews Sisters and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, the New York quartet somehow sold millions of records, appeared on TV frequently, and won multiple Grammy Awards in an era dominated by rock and disco. A key component of the Transfer’s sound were the stunning stylings of singer Laurel Masse, who is the subject of Laurel Masse: How Can I Keep from Singing?, a documentary that will show at the Rosendale Theatre on January 8.
Masse grew up in Westchester County, the granddaughter of a singer from the popular 1930s dance band Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians. Her parents took her to see Count Basie when she was very young, although she was in her 20s before she took a greater interest in jazz. While waitressing in New York in 1972 she met Manhattan Transfer founder Tim Hauser when he was working as a taxi driver, and he recruited her for the group alongside other new members Janis Siegel and Alan Paul. The four began making their name with performances at gay clubs and cabaret venues around the city and in 1975 signed with Atlantic Records, making four top-selling albums with the label until Masse was waylaid by a car crash in 1979.
Masse left the group after recovering to return to playing smaller clubs and released her solo debut, Alone Together, in 1984. She has continued to perform and record as well as teach singing, becoming an instructor at the local Ashokan Center for the Arts in 1997; she’s also taught at Dartmouth College and the Royal Academy of Music in the UK.
The Rosendale screening will be followed by a Q&A with Masse and filmmaker Reilly Tillman. Masse will also perform a few a cappella songs at the theater.
Laurel Masse: How Can I Keep from Singing? will screen at the Rosendale Theatre on January 8 at 7pm followed by the talk and performance. Tickets are $11.
