Four Freshmen
Wednesday, October 2010 2009 7:30 p.m.
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. 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 a 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.
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. There have been 22 different line-ups, and the current group consists of Brian Eichenberger, Curtis Calderon, Vince Johnson, and Bob Ferreira.
Brian Eichenberger sings the lead part while playing bass, guitar and piano. From July of 1996 until January 2000, he sang the 2nd part in the harmony with The Freshmen. Now, Brian from Apple Valley, Minnesota has become only the third lead singer in the 54 year history of the Freshmen. Brian got the call to join the Freshmen while studying jazz arranging and performance under Phil Mattson at the School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa.
Curtis Calderon, is the "Freshest Freshmen," having recently joined the group. Hailing from San Antonio he began his jazz career in earnest playing trumpet at the age of 11. As a teenager he took lessons from a highly regarded music teacher, "I couldn't wait for my lessons, I took as many as I could. Of course it helped that the teacher was a beautiful female. It was my first crush." From all those lessons Curtis joined the renowned John Marshall High Jazz Band which won many consecutive national competitions. Curtis earned his stripes by going on the road with Russ Morgan's Big Band. Coming home to San Antonio, he was a regular fixture at The Landing Jazz Club where the Four Freshmen's Brian Eichenberger discovered him. Curtis has been featured on over a dozen CDs including "Live from the Landing", on Scat Cat Records.
Vince Johnson is an accomplished singer, singing third part harmony as well as playing, bass, guitar and trombone, Vince brings a distinguished resume to The Freshmen. He received his Bachelor of Music in 1994 from California State University Long Beach and his Masters degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California in 1996. Before joining the Freshmen in December of 1999, Vince worked as an accompanist, educator and performer, which included performing throughout the world for Princess Cruises.
Bob Ferreira began singing the fourth part harmony and playing the drums for the Freshmen in 1992. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Bob's introduction to Freshmen harmony began when he studied with former Freshmen Kirk Marcy at Edmond Community College in his home state. Marcy soon had Bob in his college group "Soundsation" singing arrangements by The Four Freshmen, Singers Unlimited, The Swingle Singers, and other top jazz vocal groups. Later, while concentrating on classical voice training at Central Washington State, Marcy recommended Bob for an audition with the Freshmen.
