JAZZ
GROOVESOCIETY.COM
In silhouette, the Groove Society is, from left: Dave Sheehan, Joe Herbert, Bianca Herbert, Cameron Chinatti, LaDamion Massey and Brendan Curran.
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Let’s swing
This year's Hawaii International Jazz Festival brings together new and old traditions
Swingin' voices of the new and the old converge at this year's edition of the Hawaii International Jazz Festival.
The a capella group Groove Society, from Denver, Colo., is 4 years young, while the Four Freshmen represent a venerated tradition dating back to 1948.
'Swingtime Hana Hou!'
The 13th Annual Hawaii International Jazz Festival features the Freddy Cole Quartet, the Four Freshmen, Groove Society, saxophonist Scott Martin and the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra, and "Mele No Ka Oi" with Jeff Peterson, Abe Lagrimas, Brittni Paiva, Bruddah Smitty and Nathan Aweau
Place: Hawaii Theatre
Time: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Tickets: $25, $40 and $50, with a $5 discount for theater members, seniors, military and students (also $5 off when buying tickets for both days)
Call: 528-0506 or online at hawaiitheatre.com
Also: Free clinics offered at 10 a.m. both days, with the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra on Friday; Groove Society on Saturday
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The vocal blend of the Four Freshmen has been kept a-fresh for 58 years -- so much so that the quartet was voted Vocal Group of the Year in 2000 by readers of Downbeat magazine and again three years later by JazzTimes' readers.
Bob Flanigan was the last original member of the Freshmen when he retired as a singer in 1992. The Indiana native sang high lead, joined at the beginning by fellow Hoosiers Ross and Don Barbour and Hal Kratzsch. Nowadays, the Las Vegas resident -- who turns 80 on the 22nd -- helps keep the group's tradition alive by making sure its lineups reflect his original vision.
"Since I own the group's name, I'm responsible for the hiring and firing of its members, although that's not necessary anymore because the group is so good now," Flanigan said by phone from his desert home last week. "The last time we were there was when we did the Maui festival for (promoter Abe Weinstein). For those who saw us on Maui, the group was good then, but now it's twice as good."
Flanigan calls the current lineup of Freshmen -- Brian Eichenberger, Curtis Calderon, Vince Johnson and Bob Ferreira -- "all gentlemen, all good musicians and they work really hard. ... With new guys, it's always a thing of mine that, while they may be OK with reading charts that are easy to sing, they have to learn to listen to each other to get that special harmony blend."
It's that sophisticated, trademark close harmony sound that the Four Freshmen are known for the world over. "There's a Four Freshmen Society that holds conventions every year. Last year, it was held in Amsterdam, and 500 people showed up. In fact, they know more about the Freshmen than I do! While the group has always done fairly well in the past, now the guys are very busy. They're booked from August through May of next year."
In the beginning, Flanigan said, "we would take a melody line and harmonize it by ear. It set the tone of the Freshmen." The group was greatly influenced by the modernist jazz orchestral work of Stan Kenton. "I wanted us to sing like Kenton's trombone section, with no vibrato."
The group eventually met Kenton in 1950 at a Dayton, Ohio, date. "He became interested in the potential of the Four Freshmen and believed in us. He helped us a lot in getting our deal with Capitol Records. We were definitely influenced by him and his vocal group the Pastels, as well as Mel Tormé's collaborations with Artie Shaw."
COURTESY HAWAII INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
The latest edition of the Four Freshman, from left: Curtis Calderon, Vince Johnson, Bob Ferreira and Brian Eichenberger.
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The groundbreaking work of Flanigan's Four Freshmen would also go on to influence a certain Brian Wilson, who has always attributed the sound of the Beach Boys to his musical mentors.
"I know Brian very well," Flanigan said. "I first met him at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles in the early '50s. His father brought him down to the club. He's told me that, once he heard us, he said, 'That's the way I want to write.' I temporarily lost track of him when the Beach Boys were making it, and he later got into drugs, which was very unfortunate. After his recuperation, I would talk to him occasionally, and two, three years ago when we got reacquainted, he asked me to come to his hometown to be honored.
"He's a very, very talented man and he alone was the sound of the Beach Boys."
While Flanigan admits he doesn't travel much anymore, he will attend the festival, "and I'll also be visiting my daughter, who lives on the Big Island, as well as my grandsons."
The Groove Society represents another form of jazz vocalese. Husband and wife Joe and Bianca Herbert started the group in '02 after participating in the University of Northern Colorado's vocal jazz program.
"I got my degree there in music theory and composition," Joe Herbert said by phone from Denver. "My background instrument actually is the trumpet, and I used to play in big bands."
His arranging skills are at their best on several tracks on Groove Society's self-titled debut CD. Duke Ellington's "I'm Beginning to See the Light" evokes a nice, big-band-swing feel. Herbert also takes lead vocals on a take on Van Morrison's classic "Moondance," as well as Chicago's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," a song tailor-made for a capella jazz singing.
"The sky's the limit with what we can do vocally in the group," he said. In picking material, Herbert said: "First off, I have to love the song. When I arrange a piece of music, I have to live with it for some time, so my No. 1 criteria is that I have to enjoy the process.
"Our first love is jazz, but we do mix it up on the CD, also adding in some pop and R&B, but done with jazz harmonies. By being versatile, we get more work."
The group sent copies of its CD to festivals around the country, unsolicited. One reached Abe Weinstein, who liked what he heard and sent an invitation.
"We're a relatively new group, singing around Denver and the state and regional area," Herbert said. "In the past year, we've traveled more nationwide to coincide with the release of the CD. Obviously, we're excited to travel to Hawaii for the first time and opening for the legendary Freddy Cole."
The singers all have a true passion for jazz harmonies, he said. "It's beautiful whether it comes from a piano, guitar, or a horn section in a big band. But it becomes something special, unique and beautiful when it's sung. There's no other sound like it."