Customer Reviews

In Session

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Freshmen have won Best Jazz Vocal Group in both Jazz Times and Downbeat polls over the last five years. Released late in 2004 this CD represents the current group in a studio session. All of the songs on this CD are never-before recordings featuring arrangements by the current group (with the exception of Early Autumn by Bill Comstock). All instrumentals are by the Freshmen themselves. This is a must-have CD for fans of the Freshmen and lovers of vocal jazz and it may well propel them to further awards.

In this newest Four Freshmen CD you still hear that traditional sound that has made them so unique over the past 50+ years. Yet you can hear so much more as this is just not another nastalgic group of hanger-oners. These are all new arrangements where the current group of Freshmen add there own style and modern twists. I have never heard Early Autumn done better as you truly get some great harmonizing.
If you like vocal music -whether you have been Freshmen fans in the past or not, you will like this.

Jack Morrison

Let's cut to the chase by saying this is one super Four Freshmen CD. If you've loved this group in the past, you'll really enjoy the current combination. Bob, Brian, Curtis and Vince are consummate pros and bring the great FF harmony to a group of songs that showcase just how timeless the sound is! Standouts include "Early Autumn", "My One And Only Love" and a version of "If I Only Had A Brain" (with Vince doing some nifty scat-whistling no less) that you'll wind up wanting to hear again and again. Throw evergreens like "Skylark", "That Old Feeling" and a beautiful take on "September Song" into the mix, and you've got one of the best tributes to the Great American Songbook you'll ever hear. Add "In Session" to your want list. Don't miss out on this wonderful CD.

I overheard a PBS broadcast in the background not long ago, perked up my ears and said, "yes." "The Four Freshman In Session" was being broadcast. The old sound of the fifties, Stan Kenton and the Four Freshman is just as good as it ever was, the personnel may have changed,
the sound hasn't! Some of the favorites have been included here and there are new interpretations of some great music. Bob Ferreira does a wonderful rendition of "How Do You Keep the Music Playing". Some of us still dust off our old LP collection of that wonderful sound created by Stan Kenton and the Four Freshman, have enjoyed following the group, the new songs, the new personnel.A wonderful addition for anyone who loves that sound!

Over all a very slick album and the harmonies are flawless. Their particular cover of "Skylark" (which has received a lot of air time on the smooth jazz channels and satellite radio) in my opinion, is better than the original. The CD is a bit pricey but worth the extra few dollars.

I wanted to voice my agreement with the other reviewers of this fine set of tunes. Not only are these fellows keeping a signature ensemble sound alive, but they are rising to the daunting challenge of staying contemporaneous and artistically valid. I hope that circumstances allow them to continue to produce new albums in the future, and that they keep looking for new ways to make four voices sound like fifty. The "In Session" album will remind you why you liked music in the first place.

I had never heard of this version Of the guys but just happened to catch them on PBS one night and glad I did buy it you'll like it.

This album is by the 22nd and current edition of the Four Freshmen, all of them personally selected by the group's original lead voice, Bob Flanigan. Sublime harmonies and an innate sense of swing are the foundation of the group, and Bob, Curtis, Vince and Brian have perfectly captured that classic sound. For the most part, they stick to standards on this lovely album, with a few modern flourishes to prevent the repertoire from getting too predictable. The group keeps to its strengths, but these four gentlemen bring a spirit of youth and vigor to the Freshmen that reaches across generations. May they bring the joy of music to audiences all over the world for many years to come.

Having seen them on stage and enjoyed them very much, decided to order their latest CD which I'm enjoying very much. Looking forward to their next one. Mario Vecchi

This is a refreshing addition to the Four Freshman sound. I thought the mix was a little heavy on the lead voice, but the sound is authentically Four Freshmen (Mimicking the sound of a big band trombone section). It is a good addition to my Four Freshmen collection.