The Pittsburgh Symphony and Mellon Jazz Welcome Diana Krall, Johnny Mathis and Manhattan Transfer to Heinz Hall - Mathis and Manhattan Transfer to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Krall concert coincides with the release of her newest CD - PITTSBURGH, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Mellon Financial Corporation's strong partnership with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will bring some of the jazz world's most exciting performers to Pittsburgh this summer as Mellon Jazz welcomes Johnny Mathis, The Manhattan Transfer and Diana Krall to Heinz Hall. Mathis and The Manhattan Transfer will perform in concert with The Pittsburgh Symphony, Mathis on Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26, and The Manhattan Transfer on Thursday, August 5. The summer's third Mellon Jazz event at Heinz Hall, Clear Channel's presentation of Diana Krall, will take place on Sunday, August 22 at 7:30 p.m. "Our partnership with the Pittsburgh Symphony has always been a vital part of the Mellon Jazz program," said Rose M. Cotton, Mellon senior vice president and director of Corporate Affairs. "This year's exciting lineup of Heinz Hall attractions continues and builds on that important relationship." Larry Tamburri, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra President remarked, "Pittsburgh enjoys a rich jazz heritage. I am so pleased to see the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra partner with Mellon to keep this tradition alive." Approaching the half-century mark of one of the most remarkable careers in American music, Johnny Mathis arrived at the studios of Capitol Records in 1956 as a promising young jazz singer, and on his first album sang a collection of jazz-flavored standards from the American songbook. Honing his craft in the great New York jazz clubs, Mathis went on to become one of the world's most popular male vocalists. His "Greatest Hits" album spent an unprecedented 490 continuous weeks (nearly 10 years) on the Billboard Top Albums Chart, and he recorded a Top 40 hit during each of the four decades that followed his 1955 debut. He has performed at numerous State Dinners, entertained the British Royal Family at a command performance, and sang for America's six living first ladies at a tribute event in their honor. Twice inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, Mathis was last year's recipient of the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award. The first group to ever win Grammy Awards in both pop and jazz categories in the same year, The Manhattan Transfer has been delighting audiences with their distinctive jazz vocalizations for more than 30 years. The group's signature harmonizations blend the talents of four enormously talented performers: Tim Hauser, who organized the group in the early 1970s; Janis Siegel, who moved from folk to jazz in becoming part of the Transfer; Alan Paul, a third founding member who joined the Transfer fresh from the cast of the original Broadway production of "Grease"; and Cheryl Bentyne, welcomed to the group in the late 1970s. Multiple Grammy Award winners during the 1980s, the group made Grammy history in 1985 with their album "Vocalese," receiving 12 nominations, second-most nominated single album ever. Their 1991 album "The Offbeat of Avenues" demonstrated the extent of the group's talent, winning Best Contemporary Jazz Performance Grammy honors for "Sassy," a piece featuring lyrics by Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne and music by Siegel and Bill Bodine. The group's studio recordings span the jazz landscape from swing to the spirit of Louis Armstrong, and their live performances have made them a favorite of jazz fans around the world. Canadian singer/acoustic pianist and pop music megastar Diana Krall has taken her straight-ahead jazz releases to the top of pop music charts and performed to sellout audiences at some of the world's most renowned concert venues. Billboard magazine's reigning Top Jazz artist, Krall was born near Vancouver, British Columbia, and began studying the piano at age 4. Awarded a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Krall moved on from Boston after two years and spent the next three years in Los Angeles. Living in Toronto at the time of her 1993 debut album, she soon headed to New York and a hugely successful series of recordings on the GRP label. Her platinum- record 1998 release, "When I Look in Your Eyes," spent 52 weeks atop Billboard's jazz chart, was nominated for a Grammy as Best Album of the Year, and earned Krall a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Her 2002 recording, "Live in Paris," won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Scheduled for release this spring, her newest CD, "The Girl In The Other Room," features her original compositions, including six songs co-written by her husband Elvis Costello. Diana Krall is being presented as a Mellon Jazz event by Clear Channel. Tickets can be purchased: By Phone: 412-392-4900 In Person: Heinz Hall Box Office hours are M-F 8am-6pm / Sat. noon-4pm Online: http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/ Johnny Mathis ON SALE DATE: APRIL 26 $32, $42, $52, $62, $90 Diana Krall ON SALE DATE: APRIL 23 $56, $72.50, $120 Manhattan Transfer $39, $49, $59, $100 DATASOURCE: Mellon Financial Corporation CONTACT: Michelle Cragle of Pittsburgh Symphony, +1-412-392-4827, or ; or Ron Sommer of Mellon Financial Corporation, +1-412-236-0082, or Web site: http://www.mellon.com/ http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/

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