For nearly 60 years, Janis Siegel has been a force in the world of jazz and popular music. As a founding member of The Manhattan Transfer, her powerful and versatile voice became one of the group’s trademarks – singing lead on some of their biggest hits, including “Boy From New York City,” “Operator,” and “Chanson D’Amour.” Both TMT and Siegel amassed a vast international fan base and critical acclaim, including 10 Grammys and 18 nominations. Janis also gained a reputation as a vocal arranger, writing five of the charts for the group’s masterwork, Vocalese, and seven for the Grammy-winning Brasil. She won a Grammy in her own right for her arrangement of “Birdland.” In 1993, she and her TMT colleagues received honorary doctorates from the Berklee College of Music, and in 1999 they were among the first class of inductees into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Janis has enjoyed an eclectic solo career and has collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned musicians, producers, composers, and arrangers, including three albums with jazz pianist Fred Hersch. She also co-hosts WBGO’s Singers Unlimited radio program with Lezlie Harrison, and Vocal Gumbo, a virtual music program celebrating the vocal arts with Lauren Kinhan of the New York Voices. Recent albums include Mazel, with John Di Martino and Cantor Daniel Kramer; Cryin’ in My Whiskey with John Di Martino; Vox Humana with Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band; and The Colors of My Life: A Cy Coleman Songbook with Yaron Gershovsky.
The Village Trip is proud to have worked with Janis since 2021.