The Four Brothers - Together Again!

What does the term "Four Brothers"? mean to you? If you are under twenty-one, its significance may be a little vague, though you must be aware that the phrase has some magic connotation as a part of jazz history. If you are in your late twenties or over, you can hardly be unaware of the particular style of saxophone voicing that earned this nickname in the Woody Herman band of the late 1940s. 

In either event, there are some facts about the "Four Brothers" style that have been buried with the rapid evolution of jazz — facts that nobody bothered to point out at the time because the value of this style to jazz could not then be clearly projected. 

In their first incarnation, the brothers were Herbie Steward, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre and Stan Getz, all playing tenor saxophones.

The idea of reuniting the four original Brothers, of recreating the much imitated sound in its original form, arose in a conversation between Elliot Lawrence and Vik’s Bob Rolontz. Zoot and Al were in town; Herbie was flown in from the West Coast to make the session and Serge, still in a wheel chair after a serious operation, took a plane from Boston. For the rhythm section, Elliot’s piano was flanked by the Brothers’ original Herman Herd colleague, Don Lamond, and by the fine bass of Burgher (Buddy) Jones from Hope, Arkansas, an associate of Elliot’s for several years.

The date began at three in the afternoon on February 11, and except for a two-hour dinner break, continued until one A. M. the same night. 

The Four Brothers - Together Again! perhaps more than any of these remembrances of things past, offers swinging testimony that nostalgia, sometimes a merely narcissistic emotion, can indeed be a wonderfully vital factor in the creation and preservation of great music. *Leonard Feather (Liner notes)*

The original "Four Brothers" as heard in the 1947-48 Woody Herman Orchestra were tenors Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward and baritonist Serge Chaloff. In 1948 Al Cohn replaced Steward. In 1957 for this "reunion" session Getz was not available so instead Sims, Steward, Cohn and Chaloff were contacted. Accompanied by a rhythm section that includes pianist Elliott Lawrence, they naturally revived "Four Brothers" but otherwise mostly played newer songs by Gerry Mulligan, Manny Albam (who provided the date's arrangements), Lawrence, Cohn and Sims. Due to his bad health, Chaloff did not play many of the ensemble passages (Charlie O' Kane filled in) but he did take all of the solos; this would be his final recording. The music overall is quite enjoyable and Sims, Cohn and Steward show how much they had grown during the previous decade. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Four And One Moore

(Gerry Mulligan)

2 - So Blue

(Al Cohn)

3 - The Swinging Door

(Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan)

4 - Four In Hand

(Manny Albam)

5 - A Quick One

(Al Cohn)

Side 2

6 - Four Brothers

(Jimmy Giuffre)

7 - Ten Years Later

(Al Cohn)

8 - The Pretty One

(Elliot Lawrence)

9 - Aged In Wood

(Al Cohn)

10 - Here We Go Again

(Manny Albam)

Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Steward (tenor saxes); Serge Chaloff, Charlie O' Kane (baritone saxes); Elliott Lawrence (piano); Burgher Jones (bass); Don Lamond (drums).

Recorded in New York City, February 11, 1957.