- Born: 1954
- Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Vocal Music
- Instrument: Vocals
Biography
Laurel Massé was an original member of the Manhattan Transfer and, although she has not became that famous in the years since, she has survived and is still a fine jazz singer. Her grandfather sang lead baritone with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians for four decades, while her mother was an opera singer. Massé had piano lessons as a child, played cello as a teenager in Paris, and taught herself the guitar in the 1960s. She sang in church choirs and in high school rock & roll bands. She was working as a waitress in Manhattan when she met Tim Hauser, who was working as a cabdriver at the time. Together with Hauser, Janis Siegel, and Alan Paul, she started the Manhattan Transfer in 1972. Massé was a very versatile singer so she enjoyed the Manhattan Transfer's wide repertoire, which ranged from swing to rock, pop to bebop. She was a member of the group for seven years and was with the group as it was beginning to really make it big.That all ended in 1979 when she was involved in a near-fatal car accident. Massé was forced to drop out of the Manhattan Transfer and spend two years recuperating. She finally made a full comeback and recorded three excellent jazz albums for the Pausa label in the mid-'80s. Later in the decade she moved to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York and was not heard from much in the music world for several years. Massé re-emerged in the mid-'90s, singing spiritual music that included Celtic songs and classical music, often performed a cappella. After recording Feather & Bone in 2000, which reflected this music, she returned to jazz. Laurel Massé has hosted a monthly jazz radio show on WAMC, performs occasionally, and primarily works as an educator. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
