Cheryl Bentyne is one of the unsung heroines of contemporary jazz.
She joined the two-man, two woman jazz vocal group the Manhattan Transfer in 1979 and first appeared on their Extensions album from that year. Ms. Bentyne also sang backup on the group's 1981 cover of "The Boy From New York City," from their Mecca for Moderns LP (Janie Siegel sang lead), which - likely unexpectedly - reached number seven on the Billboard pop singles chart.
Ms. Bentyne won ten Grammy Awards with the Manhattan Transfer, and she went on to record several solo albums beginning in 1992, such has her debut Something Cool, 2003's Moonlight Serenade, and 2008's Songs of Our Time.
Fun fact: One of the ten Grammy Awards she won with the Manhattan Transfer was for her arrangement of "Another Night in Tunisia" with noted a capella performer Bobby McFerrin.
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