Four Freshmen And 5 Trombones

Four Freshmen - Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones (1955) {2015 Japan Universal 100 Series UCCU-99192}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 102 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
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© 1955, 2015 Capitol / Universal Japan | UCCU-99192
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Harmony Vocal Group / Early Pop / Mainstream Jazz / Trombone

A masterpiece – and possibly the greatest record ever by the Four Freshmen! The album is arranged by Kentonite Pete Rugolo, who gives it a very dark feel – similar to his amazing work on June Christy's Something Cool album (which is a perfect complement to this one) – and he's selected a core group of west coast jazzers to back the Freshmen up, including Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, Frank Rosolino, and Claude Williamson. Don't worry about the "trombone" part, because the horns are used to provide dark deep washes of emotion to the songs – with the boys' vocals way out over the top, in mindblowing harmonies that could also exist perfectly without any backing.

The Four Freshmen were one of the top vocal groups of the 1950s, and formed the bridge between '40s ensembles like the Mel-Tones and harmony-based rock & roll bands such as the Beach Boys as well as groups like Spanky & Our Gang and the Manhattan Transfer. The group's roots go back to the end of the 1940s and a barbershop quartet-influenced outfit called Hal's Harmonizers, organized at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Butler University in Indiana by two brothers, Ross and Don Barbour.

Diane Schuur is that rare songbird who is equally competent as a jazz singer and a pops entertainer. While some vocalists go with more lucrative popular music and some take the road of the jazz artist in the pure sense, Schuur is able to straddle the two careers. Frank Sinatra and Nat "King" Cole had a superb grasp of the jazz idiom, but they made the decisive choice to become entertainers. By contrast, Chris Connor, Betty Carter, and Johnny Hartman all had shots at the klieglights and hit parade but took the route of the jazz scene…