Jazz/Pop Four Freshmen Set to Perform at the State, 4/8

The Four Freshmen, who have been entertaining with terrific harmony arrangements of jazz and pop standards since 1948, will give a special matinee performance at the State Theatre in Easton on Friday, April 8th at 3 PM.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by visiting the State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton Street, Easton, by calling 1-800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132 or online at www.statetheatre.org. The concert is sponsored by WAEB AM 790.

The Four Freshmen's profound influence on American Jazz and pop singing began in 1948 four students at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Hal Kratzsch, brothers Ross and Don Barbour, and their cousin Bob Flanigan created a brand new vocal sound.

They became the first male quartet to use the melody on the top of the chord. Working without written music and choosing notes by ear, they spread their jazz voicing over a wider range than other groups, and they imitated the phrasing and aggressive feel of the big band brass section. Flanigan says, "After we heard ourselves make the sound, we never wanted to sing any other way.

When band leader Stan Kenton heard the group at the Esquire Lounge in Dayton, Ohio, he immediately recognized their potential. At his urging, Capitol Records signed the Four Freshmen in 1950, initiating a string of hits with "It's A Blue World."

The sound track of the movie "Lucy Gallant" introduced "How Can I Tell Her," and the flip side, "Day By Day," became a hit in days. The Freshmen have produced over 70 singles and albums.

The Freshmen appeared with the Kenton Orchestra on the famous Road Show tours and won poll after poll as "The Nation's Number One Vocal and Instrumental Quartet."

Wherever The Freshmen went, they won fans and inspired vocal groups. They played nearly every college in the USA, performing in all fifty states and forty-four countries from Asia to Europe to Australia. Bob Flanigan retired from performing in 1992, but he continues as the group's mentor and personal manager. Present members Greg Stegeman, Brian Eichenberger, Kevin Stout, and Bob Ferreira, share with Flanigan a strong commitment to the Freshmen tradition of superb vocal sound.

 

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