Couldn't Be Hotter is the fifth live album released by The Manhattan Transfer in 2003 on the Telarc label. This is their third live album with Cheryl Bentyne. It was recorded during a tour of Japan over two nights at Orchestra Hall in Tokyo.[1]

Couldn't Be Hotter
Live album by
ReleasedSeptember 2003
RecordedDecember 2000
GenreVocal jazz
Length77:32
LabelTelarc
ProducerTim Hauser
The Manhattan Transfer chronology
The Spirit of St. Louis
(2000)
Couldn't Be Hotter
(2003)
Vibrate
(2004)

Reviews

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  • "The Transfer's first live recording in seven years. And, yes, after more than two decades in existence, they're still pretty hot."
-- Los Angeles Times
  • "A great live set by the vocal quartet who specialize in jazz vocalese, still harmonizing strongly with 30-plus years under their belts."
-- Goldmine
  • "This impressive set shows that the Transfer is still at the peak of their collective powers...it's time we acknowledged them as one of the very best of a dying breed, THE classic vocal group. This CD is proof positive . "Couldn't Be Hotter" indeed."
-- JazzReview.com
  • "Recorded in Japan, Couldn't Be Hotter fully displays the humor and soaring interplay of Hauser, Siegel, Paul, and Bentyne as they re-establish themselves as the premiere vocal quartet."
-- Rhythm & News

Track listing

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# Song title Composer/songwriter length
1 "Old Man Mose" Louis Armstrong, Zilner Randolph 2:46
2 "Sing Moten's Swing" Jon Hendricks, Bennie Moten, Ira Moten 3:42
3 "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" Van Alexander, Ella Fitzgerald 3:06
4 "Sugar" Sidney D. Mitchell, Edna Pinkard, Maceo Pinkard 3:41
5 "(Up A) Lazy River" Sidney Arodin, Hoagy Carmichael 5:38
6 "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" Louis Alter, Eddie DeLange 5:32
7 "Stars Fell on Alabama" Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins 4:32
8 "Gone Fishin'" Nick Kenny, Charles Kenny 5:03
9 "Blue Again" Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh 5:29
10 "Clouds" Jon Hendricks, Django Reinhardt 7:51
11 "Stompin' at Mahogany Hall" Alan Paul, Spencer Williams 3:08
12 "Nothing Could Be Hotter Than That" Lillian Armstrong 6:43
13 "It's Good Enough to Keep (Air Mail Special)" Charlie Christian, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Mundy, Alan Paul 3:14
14 "Don't Let Go" Jesse Stone 4:18
15 "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" Jay Graydon, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Paul 4:15
16 "My Foolish Heart" Ned Washington, Victor Young 8:25

Personnel

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The Manhattan Transfer

Musicians

  • Yaron Gershovsky – keyboards, arrangements, musical director
  • Wayne Johnson – guitars
  • Michael Bowie – bass
  • Tom Brechtlein – drums
  • Larry Klimas – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
  • Lew Soloff – trumpet

Production

  • Tim Hauser – producer
  • Katsu Kusakabe – producer, management director
  • Rick Garcia – production coordinator
  • Kevin Sproatt – engineer
  • Michael Eric Hutchinson – mixing
  • Robert Hadley – mastering
  • Anilda Carrasquillo – art direction, design
  • Robert Hoffman – photography
  • Nicholas Jeen – tour manager

References

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  1. ^ "Couldn't Be Hotter". The Manhattan Transfer. Retrieved March 24, 2023.