Janis Siegel, a nine-time Grammy winner and a seventeen-time Grammy nominee, has been an undeniable force in The Manhattan Transfer’s diverse musical catalog. Alongside her career as a founding member of this landmark musical group, she has also sustained a solo career that has spawned more than a half dozen finely-crafted solo albums and numerous collaborative projects, amassed a large international fan base, and garnered consistently high critical praise.

Janis joins The Playful Musician to discuss her quarantine project, Vocal Gumbo, an online vocal group that includes a talk show and music events. She shares about first meeting Ella Fitzgerald, her musical influences, and the ups and downs of starting the Manhattan Transfer. We chat about recording the exceptional Manhattan Transfer album, Vocalese, and some of Janis’s new work including a Yiddish jazz album. Janis shares her teaching techniques, who’d she still love to collaborate with, and the words of wisdom she has for aspiring musicians.