Dolores Black knows music.The retired University professor from what is now the Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies department, has attended countless music performances on campus since she came to BGSU in 1955 as a graduate student. And it’s her love of music that forces her to attend University football games, not so much for the athletics, but for the band, she said.

But even Black, with decades of listening experience behind her, was blown away by last night’s performance by the jazz group The Four Freshmen. Sponsored by University alumnus and Board of Trustee member Bob Sebo and his wife Karen, the performance was part of this year’s jazz week and one of several kick-off events for the latest multi-year fund raising effort, Building Dreams: The Centennial Campaign.

“Of all the years that I have been here, this is the best group ever,” Black said. “They are just dynamite. They are terrific.”

The Four Freshmen had a crowd of nearly 1,000 laughing, clapping and tapping anything they could through the concert last night in the Union Ballroom. The band used drums, guitar, trumpet, trombone and even the whistling of one group member to craft songs sung in perfect harmony.

The group’s “almost Barbershop” style caught the attention of University sophomore Josh Denning who waited for a ticket into the event last night. He saw The Four Freshmen perform yesterday during his Men’s Chorus rehearsal and came to the concert to hear more and hopefully purchase one of their CDs, he said.

“They were just really cool,” Denning said. “To me, that’s really impressive to be able to sing and play at the same time.”

The Four Freshmen, credited with being the longest-running vocal group, has been through 22 member changes since its founding in 1948 at Butler University. The group earned national attention a few years later when Big Band leader Stan Kenton discovered and promoted the group.

The current group, made up of members Bob Ferreira, Vince Johnson, Brian Eichenberger and Curtis Calderon, sang both new and old numbers at last night’s event and joked with the audience about the original recordings, among other things.

But humor and antics on stage are all part of who they are, said newest band member Curtis Calderon.

“I’m glad you guys are enjoying the jokes as much as we are,” Calderson said to an audience exploding with laughter after one of their many jokes last night. “We don’t have professional writers or they’d be better. We have to tell jokes between songs to rest our voices — jokes that don’t go anywhere.”

In addition to last night’s concert, The Four Freshmen spent their afternoon hosting clinics for music students interested in vocal and instrumental jazz. The group also performed the first two songs of its set last night with help from BGSU’s 19-member Jazz Lab Band.

The opportunity to play with the group was rewarding, said freshman and baritone saxophone player Jessica Simms.

“They were really nice and they were good at making us feel like we could work together really well,” she said.

University senior and tenor saxophone player Matt Baumann agreed.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “A wholly good experience.”