The Four Freshmen were one of the pioneering groups in vocal jazz. Not only did they take the barbershop four part harmonies to a new level, but by using a fifth chord, they revolutionized the art of improvisation by allowing that fifth to provide the space need to give more volume to their already unique, close knit harmonies. The Four Freshmen influenced generations of singers starting with H...
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For lovers of Mantovani, "Charmaine" will always be their entrance to Shangri-la. The Four Freshmen approach this in an artistically different fashion: as a tango! The rendition works marvelously with the chordal changes these four men bring about while a Latin mambo breaks out with Bob Flanigan on trombone and Ross Barbour on trumpet add some tabasco sauce to the whole performance.
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The Four Freshmen got their start in 1948 when brothers Ross and Don Barbour, both attending the Arthur Jordan Conservatory at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, formed a barbershop quartet called Ha's Harmonizers with Marvin Pruitt who was soon replaced by Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan and Hal Kratzsch. The group adopted a more jazz style influenced by Mel Torme's Mel-Tones and T...
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During the long run of The Four Freshmen, there were numerous changes as there would be with any group of talented, imaginative guys. The first one to leave was Hal Kratzsch who was also their most enthusiastic member. This came in 1953 when, after getting married and returning to Warsaw, Indiana to settle, he decided to announce to the others members that hie would leave after a replacement wa...
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Ross Barbour wrote what has to be the ultimate end of the concert song in "And So It's Over.' To this day, this composition ends all of the Four Freshmen concerts. It's very brief yet takes time to thank everyone in the audience for coming to hear the show. Both Bob Flanigan on his fabulous trombone and Ross Barbour on muted trumpet show all of us how a group with great taste in songs and perfo...
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