Manhattan Transfer To Perform At The Klein In Gala Honoring Carroll Family

Grammy-acclaimed vocal groups the Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 will perform in a rare joint appearance at the Klein Memorial Auditorium May 15 at 8 p.m., the third event honoring its 75th anniversary that will also honor the contributions of Bridgeport’s eclectic Carroll family: Charles, Frank Jr., Robert, Jim, Larry, Peter, William, Patricia Vozzo and Eileen Valko. For tickets click here.

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Claude Villani and Ross Vannelli of South Norwalk-based V2 Concert Promotion, LLC are the presenters. Mr. Villani says, “V2 Concert Promotion is proud to present these two amazing vocal talents in a once-in-a-lifetime concert. We look forward to bringing other exciting shows to this historic venue.”

Following the acclaimed Vienna Boys Choir and Footsteps of Mandela concerts, this is the third event in the Klein 75 series commemorating the 75th anniversary year of Bridgeport’s historic 1,450-seat performing arts center.

The concert will also serve as The Klein’s Spring Fundraising event. At a pre-concert dinner for 240 invited donors in a tent outside the theater, The Klein will bestow the second annual Jacob Klein Leader of Distinction Award to all nine Carroll siblings, a prominent Bridgeport family of business and civic leaders. (The first honorees of the award were Nancy and Armando Goncalves.)

Funds raised at the dinner will support the Klein’s afterschool program, ASK (After School at the Klein), now finishing its second successful year. It provides tuition-free instruction in music, dance, drama and acting for the camera–all taught by professionals in those fields–to over 100 Bridgeport students. Laurence A. Caso, Executive Director at The Klein, says, “We’re delighted to welcome V2 Concert Promotion to the Klein and to have this opportunity to honor the entire Carroll family with this award, which recognizes their lifetimes of service to the Bridgeport community. And it is most fitting that we do so just prior to a concert by two of America’s most respected singing groups, Manhattan Transfer and Take 6. Both entertain with a highly charged fusion of unique vocals and styles.”

Manhattan Transfer remains a cornerstone for great pop and jazz hits, a legacy that the group has cemented since their first recording 40 years ago. The legendary quartet has been awarded 10 Grammy Awards of 20 nominations and has been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The original members, Janis Siegal, Alan Paul, and Cheryl Bentyne will honor their founding member, Tim Hauser, as they welcome new member Trist Curless.

They are responsible for 19 singles and 29 albums over their stellar career, and their music has been featured in major feature films and television shows. The group has also recorded with an impressive roster of artists including Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Smokey Robinson, Laura Nyro, Phil Collins, B.B. King, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, and Frankie Valli. With sold-out world tours and worldwide record sales in the millions, The Manhattan Transfer continues to bring unique and extraordinary melodic and jazz infused vocals to new and established audiences that span generations.

Take 6, founded 27 years ago in Huntsville, Alabama, is the most awarded a cappella group in history (10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award, and more). Heralded by Quincy Jones as the “baddest vocal cats on the planet!,” Take 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley) features six virtuosic voices united in crystal clear harmony, against a backdrop of syncopated rhythms, innovative arrangements, and funky grooves that bubble into an intoxicating brew of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop. With praise from such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and Whitney Houston, the multi-platinum selling sextet has toured across the globe, collaborated across genres, and is recognized as the pre-eminent a cappella group in the world.