SWING AGE

This five-piece jazz vocal group features a female lead. Bringing Takao Maeda in as arranger was a successful choice for their second album. Yoichi Takigawa's bossa nova A3 becomes an elegant cafe-style number, while the fugue of B4 receives a mellow, disco-inflected treatment. The repertoire also includes Haruomi Hosono's solo work, familiar Haruomi Hosono pieces arranged by Hosono, Masataka Matsutoya and Keitaro Miho in the spirit of TAIAN YOKO, and covers of Barry Manilow, Janis Ian, and Bette Midler. With such deft handling, their affinity with the Manhattan Transfer hardly needs spelling out.