In the CompanY of Manhattan Transfer

Okay, I’ll admit it now that ever since my musical director, Beth Martin announced to me that legendary vocal harmony group, The Manhattan Transfer, was going to perform in Manila, any semblance of restraint and propriety flew out the window! Like a zombie craving for his next kill, I hunted down the show’s producer, Renen de Guia, and clumsily "offered" my group, The CompanY, as the Transfer’s front act at the Araneta Coliseum on July 7. Of course, I am talking of the vocal group that The CompanY emulated and aspired to be for all of these years; our raison d’etre if you will.

This was not the first time the paths of the Transfers and The CompanY have intersected. Both groups first met in 1992 when The CompanY sang with them the a cappella equivalent of a triathlon, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square. The second time was when my group went on a Japan tour in 1994. The last time we met and shared the stage with them was in 1996 at the Captain’s Bar of the Mandarin Oriental.

So enough of this backward posturing; 10 years have passed by since then. It is the year 2006 and I was in commando mode. The mission impossible was to be able to hook up with the Transfers and do the front act for their show. Nothing short of groveling was employed to put into fruition all my machinations; Ha! Ha! Ha! (evil laughter with heavy reverb).

The day I learned that the producers picked someone else to do the front act was a sad and dark day for humanity (sound effects: Gothic church organ)... well, at least in my book anyway. One of the best epiphanies I learned as I got on in years was that one does indeed survive life’s disappointments, failures and letdowns. So down to Earth, I fell and life went on again.

And then it all began. I received a text message from the concert producer Renen asking me if The CompanY would be agreeable to do a production number with Man Tran on its biggest Philippine pop hit, Smile Again. Uhm... Hello?... Is the Pope Catholic?

A few minutes after, another text message from Mr. Songwriter, Jose Mari Chan, came in inviting me to a private dinner on the coming Thursday night, July 6, with his family at the Hyatt to welcome the Manhattan Transfer. (Slowly fade to black with matching head concussion.)

So the night of that formal dinner arrived. Joe Mari, wife Mary Anne (also known to CompanY as Audrey Hepburn), most of the Chan children: Lisa (with husband TJ), Mike, Joe Jr. (with wife Anna) and Franco were all dressed to the nines (even though it was only 7:45?!?). From the moment, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne entered the room, they made us all feel at ease; allaying our fears that these multiple Grammy singers would be cranky and aloof from exhaustion and jetlag. I was really happy because all the three Man Tran singers who were present (unfortunately some bad oysters got the best of Tim) remembered me and called me by my name. That was a hoot!

The dinner was elegant. The food was scrumptious. The conversation and company – relaxed yet animated. We talked about simple (sometimes mundane) things like getting over jetlag, the virtues of power naps and Ambien, maintaining vocal health on tour, this wonderful invention called Skype that allows them to call home anytime, anywhere, how Alan Paul discovered that it was a mortal sin to pat (or even touch) Frank Sinatra, the true modesty of The First Lady of Song – Ella Fitzgerald, how Janis was able to watch Streisand in the original Broadway run of Funny Girl, the rigidity of radio’s format today and their recording techniques, how delighted they were upon knowing that The CompanY just celebrated its 20th anniversary, etc. Coffee time came and that was when I took out a stack of all of their CD covers (about three inches high); from the 1971 Jukin’ album to 2006’s The Symphony Sessions. They were quite shocked that I even had all of their solo and side project albums and DVDs; albums so rare, obscure and out of print. They gamely acceded to sign this enormous stack, one album at a time. We then had our photos taken and soon after they bid us goodnight. In typical Pinoy fashion, this went on for the next 15 minutes.

(Cut to Cut) 5 p.m. Araneta Coliseum. Sound Check. Cecile Bautista of The CompanY shrieked, "They’re here!" and like mice, we scampered to the ring side seats and decided to play it cool even though our hearts were going full throttle. We waited 10 years for this reunion to happen and there we were, the fools playing it cool. Actually, the reason for this is that we didn’t want to smother them and be so upfront with our adulation; you just gotta be Asian to get this! When they finally did notice us, the floodgates burst. It was so heartwarming to hear Alan say, "I remember you! Hello again!," to CompanY’s soprano Annie Quintos. I was also proud to introduce for the first time CompanY soprano 1, Sweet Plantado and CompanY tenor, Jay Marquez, to each of the Transfers. We did our sound check together and continued to catch up on each other’s lives.

The Manhattan Transfer did not disappoint their Filipino audience. The repertoire was a good mix of the tried-and-tested warhorses alongside their new and equally impressive material. Time and age have not diminished their unbelievable level of virtuosity. When the last note of Birdland, their multiple Grammy winning song, was sung, the audience rose to their feet to give them a much- deserved standing ovation. Tim Hauser then intimated to the audience that one of their job’s perks is to travel and be reunited with their old friends. He then called The CompanY onstage to sing with them. The Filipino audience gave us a welcome roar of goodwill and support. We were holding back the tears, God allowed our dream to happen once again. We were just aiming for the front act, instead, He gave us more than what we asked for. Indeed, He only has the best plans for each of us.

When the intro of Smile Again played, the audience gave a big howl. Beside Man Tran’s Janis Siegel, I witnessed first hand how she would hit those impressive high notes with ease and finesse. No tricks in the studio, simply astounding. But it wasn’t over yet. We then launched into Alan Paul’s a doo wop arrangement of Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me. This chart was given to us by Alan himself when we first met in 1992. Man Tran soprano, Cheryl, was generous enough to give the stratospheric obligatto to CompanY’s Annie. Right after this, the stage just degenerated into a love fest. (Fade in mushy mood music.) All the members of both groups hugged each other. The Transfers then capped the evening with a Pinoy favorite, their dance classic — Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone.

When the tears were shed and all the long goodbyes were said, it was suddenly over; much too soon, we felt. Nonetheless, my singing partners and I feel very blessed that God has allowed this beautiful and joyful thing to happen in our lives. For The CompanY, "that certain night, the night we met" will forever be etched in our memories. So down to Earth, I fall and life goes on again.