The Anthology: Down in Birdland (1992)

About this title: As the Manhattan Transfer went on, so did the legacy of the jazz vocal ensemble. In that regard, though the competition was scarce, this group did elevate the art form to a higher level without much compromise. This two-CD, 39-track compilation represents many of the high points of the group. If anything is missing, some of the vocalese influenced by Eddie Jefferson should have been included. Still most fans will recognize "Ray's Rockhouse," "Route 66," "Four Brothers," "Tuxedo Junction," "That Cat Is High," "(Sing) Joy Spring," and their immortal take of the Jon Hendricks lyric to "Birdland. ... read more

Tracks:

1. Trickle Trickle [Bassett]
2. Gloria [Navarro]
3. Operator [Spivery]
4. Helpless [Dozier/Holland/Holl]
5. Ray's Rockhouse [Charles/Hendricks]
6. Heart's Desire [Live] [Cox/Dozier/Ingram]
7. Zindy Lou [Moore/Smith]
8. Mystery [Temperton]
9. Baby Come Back to Me (The Morse Code of Love) [Santamaria]
10. Route 66 [Troup]
11. Java Jive [Drake/Oakland]
12. Chanson d'Amour [Shanklin]
13. Foreign Affair [Waits]
14. Smile Again [Champlin/Foster/Gra]
15. Spice of Life [Bramble/Temperton]
16. The Speak Up Mambo (Cučntame) [Castellanos]
17. Soul Food to Go (Sina) [Djavan/Fieger]
18. So You Say (Esquinas) [Djavan/McBroom]
19. Boy from New York City [Davis/Taylor]
20. Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone [Graydon/Herrmann/Pa]
21. Four Brothers [Giuffre/Hendricks]
22. Blee Blop Blues [Basie/Hendricks]
23. Candy [David/Kramer/Whitne]
24. A Gal in Calico [Robin/Schwartz]
25. Love for Sale [Porter]
26. On a Little Street in Singapore [DeRose/Hill]
27. Tuxedo Junction [Dash/Feyne/Hawkins/]
28. That Cat Is High [Williams]
29. Body and Soul [Sour/Green/Heyman]
30. Meet Benny Bailey [Hendricks/Jones]
31. Sing Joy Spring [Brown/Hendricks]
32. To You [Jones]
33. Down South Camp Meeting [Henderson/Hendricks]
34. Until I Met You (Corner Pocket) [Green/Wolf]
35. Why Not! (Manhattan Carnival) [Camilo/Eigenberg/Ko]
36. Another Night in Tunisia [Gillespie/Hendricks]
37. Capim [Djavan]
38. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square [Maschwitz/Sherwin]
39. Birdland [Hendricks/Zawinul]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.