Американский вокальный квартет The Four Freshmen: История и эволюция звучания.

American male vocal quartet
the Irish showband

The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends open harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel Tones, founded in the barbershop tradition. The singers accompany themselves on guitar, horns, bass, and drums, among other instrumental configurations. The group was founded in 1948 in Indiana and reached its peak popularity in the mid 1950s. The last original member retired in 1993, but the group continues to tour internationally. It has recorded jazz harmonies since its founding in the late 1940s in the halls of the Jordan School of Music at Butler University in Indianapolis.

Brothers Don and Ross Barbour grew up in a musical family in Columbus, Indiana, and had sung with their cousin Bob Flanigan as kids. In 1947, while attending the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, music theory classmate Hal Kratzsch convinced the Barbours that forming a barbershop quartet would be a great source of income, so they formed a barbershop quartet called Hal's Harmonizers. Kratzsch knew from instinct how to sing the bottom part; Don, with his wide vocal range, was tapped to sing the second part; and Ross, a natural baritone, took the third part. To sing the top part, they recruited classmate Marvin Pruitt. They would perform songs like "Sweet Adeline" at fairs and conventions while wearing armbands, exaggerated false mustaches, and waiters' aprons. Bored with the confinement of barbershop chords, and not wanting to give up their income base, they renamed themselves as the Toppers, and experimented with more complex chords and jazz arrangements. At first, the group was influenced by Glenn Miller's quartet, The Modernaires, and Mel Tormé's Mel Tones, but soon developed its own style of improvised vocal harmony. As the Toppers' popularity grew, Pruitt developed stage fright and resigned. Initially, they replaced him with Ross's girlfriend and future wife Nancy Sue Carson, but feeling that a fourth male voice would be more appropriate for the group's sound, the Barbour brothers contacted Flanigan, who was living in Greencastle, Indiana and had previously been part of a high school quintet singing songs inspired by the Modernaires, to become their new lead singer. and was sufficiently impressed that on April 14, he arranged for an audition with his label, Capitol Records, which signed them later that year. The demo included "Laura", "Basin' Street Blues", "Dry Bones", and two other songs. Their single to chart was "It Happened Once Before", and the year ended with them winning the DownBeat magazine poll as Best Jazz Vocal Group of 1953. Don Barbour, unhappy with the direction the group had been taking with its material, which was away from the blues and saloon numbers and more toward mainstream pop, left the group on amicable terms in September 1960. He began working on a solo album in June 1961, but before it was released, he was killed in an automobile accident in Hollywood on October 5, 1961. This lineup released the album Mount Freshmore in 1977. In 1977, Ross Barbour retired to go into the real estate business in California, after spending 29 years with the Freshmen. At the same time, Ray Brown also departed, choosing to step away from the road and spend more time with his growing family. Replacing them were Autie Goodman, who had spent 11 years with the Modernaires, and Dennis Grillo, a jazz composer and arranger who worked with numerous bands. Goodman sang the second part and played saxophone and drums, while Grillo sang the third part and played trumpet and flugelhorn. As such, they could carry their own set of horns, an arrangement that lasted until the 1990s. Ken Albers retired from the group in February 1982. As a result, Dennis Grillo temporarily took over the fourth part, while Mike Beisner, a student under the Stan Kenton Band Clinics, was brought in to sing the third part, as well as to play trumpet, flugelhorn and keyboards. With Grillo leaving a month later to become a professor at the Berklee College of Music, Rod Henley, who led the Hotlanta Jazz Singers and has played together with former Freshman Ray Brown in the Fancy Colors, became his replacement, while playing trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn and keyboards. Henley had previously been offered as a replacement for Comstock as early as 1972 at Brown's recommendation, though Brown was selected instead. In 1986, they released the album Fresh!, featuring a more modern arrangement as well as covers of 1970s and 1980s hits. Rod Henley left the Four Freshmen in 1986, his place taken over by Dave Jennings and then Newton Graber. Despite returning briefly in 1987, he soon departed for a second time, and Seattle based high school teacher Kirk Marcy was recruited as the group's bass singer in September that year. In 1988, they made an appearance on Mother's Day with Joan Lunden, where they were joined by Lunden's husband producer Michael A. Krauss on "Day By Day". In August 1988, Marcy left to become the director of Edmonds College's vocal jazz ensemble Soundsation, and was replaced by Garry Lee Rosenberg. In 1989, Mike Beisner was offered the role of musical director for talk show Everyday with Joan Lunden, resulting in his departure from the group. While he and Flanigan were searching for a replacement, they came across a 1988 demo from a then 39 year old Greg Stegeman, featuring him singing all four parts and playing keyboards and horns. Stegeman, who was working as music director and disc jockey at KRML, responded to a phone call from Flanigan, resulting in him becoming a fully fledged member of the Four Freshmen. While touring with Woody Herman's band in 1990, Flanigan suffered from a heart attack and would require heart surgery. With a few weeks left in the tour, Stegeman offered to take the top part, while Beisner temporarily returned following the commercial failure of Lunden's talk show. When Flanigan was well enough to resume touring, Stegeman returned to singing the third part while Beisner departed for a second time. and Kevin Stout, a freelance jazz trombonist in Las Vegas. Ferreira handled drums and bass vocals, while Stout played guitar, bass and trombone. As Stout could not sing at the top, he took the third part, with Stegeman taking on the high notes and Beisner singing the second part. Flanigan introduced the new Freshmen lineup at the 1992 Four Freshmen Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Kevin Stout left the group in December 1999 after a seven year stint, following which he would collaborate regularly with high school friend and saxophonist Brian Booth. In his place was Vince Johnson, who had previously worked as an accompanist, educator and performer, and had performed throughout the world while with Princess Cruises. Former member Mike Beisner died of natural causes on July 6, 2008, at the age of 53. Bob Flanigan died on May 15, 2011, at the age of 84 from congestive heart failure. Last original member Ross Barbour died on August 20, 2011, at the age of 82 from cancer. Dennis Grillo died on October 31, 2011, at the age of 81. Replacing him was Stein Malvey, who had previously collaborated with Brian Eichenberger on his 2009 solo album one under the alias iKE. With Malvey singing the second tenor part and playing guitar, Eichenberger made the bass his primary instrument while Calderon took over the baritone part. In January 2015, Brian Eichenberger left to tour with the Beach Boys, after spending 18 years with the Four Freshmen. He contacted Phil Mattson, the director of the School for Music Vocations, who recommended Tommy Boynton, then an adjunct professor at his alma mater. Boynton took over the lead voice and played bass. Former member Bill Comstock died on November 22, 2016, at the age of 92. In end 2016, Curtis Calderon left the group to spend more time with his growing family. They began searching for a replacement, which ended up being Jon Gaines. Ferreira then sent Gaines charts of the Four Freshmen's most popular tunes, six at a time, so that he could learn the third vocal part. This was followed by a week of rehearsals with the other three musicians until he was comfortable enough to go on the road. Longtime member Autie Goodman died in his sleep on December 20, 2018, at the age of 93. On February 21 and 22, 2020, the Four Freshmen played two sets at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe in Michigan, with Minneapolis based jazz trumpeter Jake Baldwin in place of Jon Gaines, causing fans to start questioning if Gaines had left the group. In response, the group posted on their social media on April 9, confirming Gaines's departure and Baldwin's entry as an official member. Baldwin had previously studied alongside Boynton at the New England Conservatory of Music, and was recommended to Ferreira to replace the departing Gaines, who left to tend to his family. Former member Ray Brown died of complications related to COVID 19 on November 11, 2020, at the age of 81. Stein Malvey left in November 2020 to pursue other musical ventures, after spending seven years in the group. Tommy Boynton moved to guitar and second part vocals, while bringing in Ryan Howe, a fellow faculty member and graduate of the School for Music Vocations, to sing lead and play bass. This new lineup made its debut in Largo, Florida on November 15. However, following Howe's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis that affected the use of his hands, he stopped playing bass with the group starting May 2022, instead they would bring in external musicians to play upright bass with them during their gigs.

The Four Freshmen were an important influence on Brian Wilson, beginning in the mid 50s. He listened to one of their albums, Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones, and it "mesmerized" him. He spoke very highly of it: "'It brings a feeling of love inside me That feeling of harmony.'" Aside from listening to their music, the teenage Wilson made a point of seeing the Four Freshmen perform live: "he made solitary pilgrimages to the resort hotels of Catalina Island to see the Four Freshmen." The Four Freshmen are also credited with influencing The Lettermen, The Four Preps and The Manhattan Transfer, among other vocal groups. The Four Freshmen covered the song on their 1986 album Fresh!

The Four Freshmen have won JazzTimes magazine's Readers Poll for Best Vocal Group multiple years. The group won DownBeat magazine's Readers Poll for Best Vocal Group in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 2000, and 2001. The Freshmen have been nominated for a Grammy Award six times.