With more than a dozen Grammy Awards to its credit, Manhattan Transfer delighted an opening day throng at the Napa Town & Country Fair Wednesday night.

The quartet’s well-received Napa Valley debut comes about three decades after the ensemble began currying favor and earning kudos for its sophisticated mix of jazz, big band and popular music styles.

Riding a wave of nostalgia in the '70s, the Manhattan Transfer resurrected jazz trends from boogie-woogie to bop to vocalese. If the local fair audience is any indication, material from the quartet’s landmark recordings is as popular today as it was when released.

Hanging on every word, every note, a respectful standing-room-only crowd of 1,800 grooved on memories as well as hits like “Java Jive” and “Tuxedo Junction.” It proved to be a grand, glorious way to kick off this year’s fair.

Most fans know that the Manhattan Transfer was not an overnight success, but a result of many years of dues-paying and persistence, particularly by bass singer and founder Tim Hauser. He had put together a couple of doo-wop groups, including one he called the Manhattan Transfer. But neither clicked.

The Manhattan Transfer re-emerged as a four-piece ensemble, with Janis Siegel (alto), Laurel Masse (soprano) and Alan Paul (tenor), who found each other in a series of happy coincidences. The Manhattan Transfer’s first recording in 1978 featured “Operator,” a ’50s gospel tune, which reached number No. 22 on the Billboard chart and was the band’s first hit.

With the departure of Masse, Cheryl Bentyne joined in 1979 and the group went forward with its next record, “Extensions.” It was a hit and the group was swept up in the disco craze with the single “Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone.” That recording also included “Birdland,” the Weather Report composition that became a Manhattan Transfer signature tune. The group won a pair of Grammies for that recording, the first of many. Much to the delight of the fair audience, “Birdland” was included in Wednesday night’s program, taking fans back to the Transfer’s halcyon days.

Kicking off the show with “Choo Choo Ch’boogie” and “Sing Moten’s Swing,” from the group’s 1997 “Swing” recording. The amazing foursome continued to charm the crowd with a exquisite rendition of “Route 66.”

Highlights included a devilishly tricky but spot-on performance of Horace Silver’s “Doodlin’” (lyrics by Jon Hendricks) and Janis Siegel’s rousing tribute to Ella Fitzgerald on “A Tisket, A Tasket,” complete with brilliant trumpet scatting that had the crowd begging for more.

For the handholders, the Transfer offered a lovely “That’s the Way It Goes,” and a dynamic Young Rascals cover, “Groovin’.” A couple of songs from the album “Brasil” — “Bahia” and “Soul Food” — added a bit of spice, while “Trickle, Trickle” and “Boy From New York City” satisfied doo-woppers and had fans on their feet shuckin’ and jivin’.

Many in Wednesday night’s crowd were surprised that Manhattan Transfer had not performed in the valley before. But this indeed was the group’s first local show. Nearly two decades ago, the quartet had been engaged to perform at the Robert Mondavi Summer Festival, but an opportunity to record abroad resulted in a canceled booking.

Following the concert, the performers said they’d love to be invited back to perform in Napa and would like to make up for their canceled gig at Mondavi.

But for the moment, Manhattan Transfer fans have Napa Valley Expo CEO Joe Anderson to thank, for it was Anderson who pursued this incredible ensemble and booked it as part of this year’s lineup. Good show!