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Report from Atlanta Convention: Friday's Big Noise from Ravinia The Four Freshmen backed by big band recreate famous album 9/25/2009 By Wayne Corey

Bob Ferreira, Vince Johnson, Brian Eichenberger, Curtis Calderon in Atlanta

(Editor's Note: Madison's Wayne Corey was among the 400 or so Four Freshmen fans who met in Atlanta Aug. 20-22, 2009, to spend time with current and past Four Freshmen in an annual convention. He reports here about the Friday night dinner show when the Freshmen for the first time in public recreated the sounds of their best-selling album, "Four Freshmen and Five Trombones."

(For the newer fans, the late Mike Beisner was a member of the Four Freshmen for 12 1/2 years. Greg Stegeman also is a former Freshmen member. Group 22 is the fan designation for the current configuration of the Freshmen.

It was a blast from the past!

It was a flight to the future!

It was Friday night at the "Blue Moon" convention in Atlanta when the Four Freshmen returned to those thrilling Kenton band Road Show days and then moved us forward with only a hint of nostalgia as they reintroduced the "Four Freshmen and Five Trombones."

The Freshmen used the "Road Show" opener, "Day In Day Out," backed by the excellent 17-piece GPC Jazz Ensemble. The Freshmen did it with the Stan Kenton (photo right) band nearly 50 years ago and that recording still produces a thrill, swinging harder than any other live track by any Freshmen group.

Group 22's vocal harmonies were impeccable this night. They took the song at a slightly slower pace than the original recording and the GPC band isn't as crisp as the Kenton band but, then, neither is anyone else.

Michael Beisner once told me "Day In Day Out" is one of the toughest of all FF charts. Group 22 made it look easy.

"Poinciana" had a somewhat quicker tempo than either the original recording or other live recordings of the song by FF groups, including Group 22, through the years. From the opening attack, it was obvious that the guys and the band were going to absolutely nail the chart. A superb sound mix added to the pleasure.

And then came a surprise. "If I Had You" was an obscure ballad, best known by Frank Sinatra's 1947 recording, when the Freshmen put it on their "In Session" CD.

On the CD the chart became an absolute cooker. In concert, however, the guys have taken it back to its ballad days. It's OK but a disappointment to fans who love the uptempo Bourbon Street meets Beale Street version on In Session.

But that Friday night we were introduced to yet a third FF incarnation of "If I Had You." The new Big Band chart from Patrick Murray proves "it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!"

A super walking bass line propelled the music forward from the start. The chart has hot brass and swinging saxes. Brian Eichenberger's vocal solo put back some of that Memphis grit.

Bob Ferreira said it was only the second time the guys have done the new chart live. It showed in a couple of somewhat sloppy vocal attacks but again the harmonies were great.

Patrick Murray, a musician from Los Angeles by way of Austin, Texas and the Manhattan School of Music, is a most welcome addition to the Four Freshmen family of great arrangers! Bob summed it up best: "Great chart!"

Speaking of great arrangers and arrangements, Greg's Stegeman's "Walking My Baby Back Home" came next. Wikipedia lists 75 artists who have recorded this song since 1930, with Nat Cole and Johnnie Ray having notable hit versions in 1952. The Freshmen are the ONLY vocal group to record it. That distinction may be permanent because it would be tough to top this chart.

The intricate vocal harmonies of "Fools Rush In" amaze as much today as they did almost 50 years ago when Ken Albers wrote the chart.

The song sounded marvelous on "The Freshmen Year" in 1960 and sounds super when Group 22 does it self-contained today. The Big Band accompaniment adds a special touch, perhaps because the song started as a Big Band hit for both Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.

Miller had Ray Eberle's vocal. Dorsey featured a skinny guy from Hoboken named Sinatra. The GPC Jazz Ensemble made the song shine. Repeated listening suggests "Fools" wasn't Group 22's best performance of the evening, but saying that is akin to complaining when Babe Ruth only hit a triple.

Continued here as Part 2: "Five Trombones Revisited."