Back in the Swing

The greetings burst out of the telephone, flying in all directions.

“Hi, Alan,” “Hi, Janis,” “Hey, Tim,” “How ya’ doin’, Cheryl?”

Having a five-way conference call with the four members of the Manhattan Transfer--two of them in L.A., one in New York and one in Massachusetts--is a bit like suddenly finding oneself in the middle of the veteran vocal group’s up-tempo scat songs.

Fragments of sentences, laughter, a quick joke or two intertwine with brief efforts to update the others on the latest news. Topics flit in and out of the conversation like improvised riffs in a series of blues choruses, before the conversation finally settles into a more coherent pattern.

But the Transfer members--Tim Hauser, Janis Siegel, Alan Paul and Cheryl Bentyne--know how to create harmony out of chaos. They’ve been doing it together musically for 18 years as the current quartet, and with Laurel Masse in place of Bentyne for seven years before that.

In fact, as the Manhattan Transfer celebrates its 25th anniversary, it may be one of the longest continuously active groups in today’s popular music and jazz.

To make the celebration even more gratifying, the quartet, which performs at the Universal Amphitheatre Friday night, is now in the midst of a revival. Its current album, “Swing,” has been at the top of Billboard’s traditional jazz charts for more than eight weeks in a row.

“Hey, call it a comeback,” Hauser says. “The last couple of years haven’t exactly been our greatest period.”

The Transfer returned to its original record company, Atlantic, after what Hauser described as a less than pleasant two-album stint with Columbia Records, with the release of last year’s “Tonin’.” That album, which included collaborations with a number of soul, R&B; and pop artists, was a musically intriguing outing.

“The problem,” Paul says, “was that when we went out on the road to do the tunes, we didn’t have any of the stars along who had recorded with us.”

“Right,” Siegel adds, “which meant we had to fill in on the lead parts. But what happened was that, by the time we finished the tour, we were back to doing most of our familiar material.”

“Swing” is unlikely to produce any similar problems. The material is drawn from the Swing Era, perfectly suited to the Transfer’s essential skills. The recording includes such classics as “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” “Skyliner,” “King Porter Stomp” (redone as “Stomp of King Porter”), “Moten Swing” (also redone, as “Sing Moten’s Swing”) and “Down South Camp Meetin’.”

“We’ve been wanting to do this album for a while,” Paul says, “but we had no idea we’d get as lucky as we did with the swing and dance revival that’s taking place right now.”

“Yeah, we couldn’t have asked for better timing,” Bentyne adds.

Big-band fans will recognize the fine hand of Fletcher Henderson in some of the CD’s tunes. And Siegel, who puts together the Transfer’s charts, was quick to acknowledge the importance of the legendary arranger-composer’s role.

“Well, he was the real ‘King of Swing,’ wasn’t he,” she says. “And the amazing thing is that his arrangements on things like ‘Down South Camp Meetin’ ’--most of which I followed pretty closely--still sound as fresh as ever.”

“Not only that,” Bentyne says, “but they’re great fun to sing too.”

“Swing” is, in many respects, a return to the Transfer’s greatest strength--the complex vocal music best typified by the group’s double Grammy-winning 1985 album, “Vocalese.” (The word refers to the application of often rapid-fire lyrics to music that was originally instrumental.) Not only is it Manhattan Transfer at its best, it is contemporary jazz vocalizing at its finest.

“Our original goal,” Hauser says, “was to sound like the Count Basie saxophone section. And I think we came pretty close here. But we also wanted to have other sounds too--that George Shearing vibes, guitar and piano combination is one, but we modified it a bit by using Buddy Emmons on steel guitar!”

Other guests on the album include the 89-year-old jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli; the Gypsy guitar group the Tim Rosenberg Trio; the country-swing band Asleep at the Wheel; and Nashville instrumental heavies Mark O’Connor, violin; Ricky Scaggs, piano, and Emmons. Jon Hendricks, one of the founding members of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, the vocal group that had a powerful impact upon the Transfer, provides new lyrics for several of the tunes.

Although the Transfer will not be traveling with any of the album guest stars, the quartet will have no difficulty reproducing the perky, foot-tapping sounds on the CD.

“We’re in a good place with this album,” Hauser says. “And we’re looking forward to the Universal Amphitheatre gig. We canceled our New Year’s Eve appearance there last year, and we’re eager to let our fans know that we’re still around.”

With 20 albums in 25 years, eight Grammy awards and worldwide sales in the millions, and a hot new album, there’s not much doubt about the fact that the Manhattan Transfer is still around, with a lot to celebrate this year.

“Well, surviving, for one thing,” Hauser says.

“Without killing each other,” Bentyne adds.

“Although we’ve come close,” Siegel responds.

But it’s apparent that the musical harmony that is so well expressed in the Transfer’s music reflects a deep, harmonious friendship, as well.

As one of the members leaves the conversation, Hauser says to the others still connected on the conference call, “Hey, you guys want to stay on the line for a while?”

The three-way answer is immediate: “Sure! Yeah! What’s happening, Tim. . . ?”

BE THERE

The Manhattan Transfer, Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. Friday, 8:15 p.m. $16-$57. (818) 622-4440.