Search - Al Cohn :: Together Again

Is there really only four?

Patricia R. Andersen | MD USA | 02/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, there's more than four wonderful jazz musicians on this cd - there's a total of six - Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, Serge Chaloff, Elliott Lawrence, Burgher "Buddy" Jones and Don Lamond. And no, they're not brothers. Now that's cleared up, on to the review. This is an amazing cd that captures "The Four Brothers" wonderful sound. This was recorded on February 11, 1957 in basically one take. The give and take of the musicians, the friendship all comes through in the music.And what music it is - there is, of course, "Four and One Moore" written by Gerry Mulligan, where everybody gets to strut their stuff. When you listen to "So Blue", you can almost see the sad man sitting at the bar, wondering how to get his love back. "The Swinging Door" will remind you that these very talented musicians worked with some of the best big bands of all time - Woody Herman, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. "Four In The Hand" written by Manny Albam showcases the marvelous interplay between the saxophones. "A Quick One", according to the liner notes, was done "just for kicks" shines with lighthearted joy. "Four Brothers" is an old favorite of mine and they do a stupendous job with it, breathing new life into this jazz standard. All the rest of the music - "Ten Years Later", "The Pretty One", "Aged in Wood" is as solid and great as the music preceding it.So if you want to hear real jazz, made by real jazz musicians, I recommend this cd highly. A perfect cd for a Sunday afternoon or even in your car driving to work on Monday. Who knows, it might even chase away those Monday blues, it's _that_ good."

Recomendo

John Lester | Vila Velha, Espírito Santo Brazil | 09/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Outro dia olhava vagaroso à janela. As ondas do mar, revoltadas, invadiam lentamente as calçadas esburacadas da praia de Itaparica. Como os sem terra, pareciam tentar beliscar as garagens dos edifícios. Alguns bêbados sorriam de tudo enquanto curiosos fotografavam o fenômeno. Eu comigo refletia: não seria nada mal se a ressaca arrastasse consigo todos esses quiosques horrendos para bem longe. Procurando respaldar desejo tão politicamente incorreto, listei assim: haveria menos barulho e fetidez nos arredores; naquelas noites mais enluaradas, quando a lua grande me observa inteiro, veríamos menos travestis picando as veias gastas com seringas sujas; talvez as crianças filhas da madrugada parassem de fumar crack diante de nossas agradáveis mesas de varanda. Que bela sensação: quiosques imundos sendo arrastados para o fundo do mar, tijolo por tijolo, cd de axé por cd de axé, tudo escorrendo para as profundezas eternas, colocados sob o imenso tapete de Netuno. Não haveria melhor maquiagem para nossa orla cada dia mais estreita, cada verão mais esmagada entre a fúria das águas e o cimento com aço das construções. O mar só não conseguiria arrastar a enorme sombra que a civilização joga toda tarde sobre a praia de Itaparica, tornando fria a areia e quente a especulação imobiliária.



Durante meu sonho delicioso percebi quatro meninos correndo pela amarelada areia capixaba. Lembrei então dos Four Brothers, aqueles meninos da ensolarada Califórnia, aquela das fotografias de William Claxton, que brincavam na praia sem cheiro de mar de Malibu. Rogério Coimbra, amigo e sócio do Clube das Terças, pode dizer se estou inventando: ele sabe tudo sobre Los Angeles. As recordações continuavam: lembrei também que, na verdade, os quatro brothers eram seis. A coisa toda começou na década de 1940, com quatro jovens saxofonistas brancos, todos apaixonados pela música de Lester Young, o gênio que recriou a leitura do sax tenor no jazz, afastando-se da grandiosa eloqüência de Coleman Hawkins. Era 1946 e eles tocavam no bar Pontrelli, em Los Angeles. Seus nomes: Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward e Jimmy Giuffre. Amadurecia assim o caráter cool do west coast jazz. Em 1947 os Brothers, com exceção de Giuffre, foram tocar na famosa orquestra de Woody Herman. Eram três apenas, até que chegaria um novo irmão, o saxofonista barítono Serge Chaloff. Gravaram juntos e obtiveram reconhecimento nacional pelo seu som bastante característico, onde demonstravam um princípio básico do jazz: velocidade e leveza podem caminhar lado a lado. Algumas faixas são clássicas, como Four Brothers, composta por Giuffre para seus irmãos. Em 1948, gravariam outro clássico, Early Autumn, de Ralph Burns. O tempo foi passando e, com a saída de Steward, chega mais um novo irmão: Al Cohn. Feitas as contas, somam seis. Num improviso de imaginação, pude ver uma onda gigante, uma espécie de tsunami capixaba, varrendo o calçadão: sua intensidade onírica seria suficiente para dizimar apenas os quiosques e suas caixas de som made in China. A onda gigante não chegaria a exterminar a massa humana que balança animadamente os quadris desengonçados: bastou-se a fazer com que debandassem foliões assustados para algum lugar remoto, muito distante e adequadamente isolado."

The Four Brother harmonize again

rash67 | USA | 07/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Spirited music from the Four Brothers reunion.



For those not familiar with the term, "The Four Brothers" were a Woody Herman concept! They were four spectacular late 40's sax players, who had honed their skills and sound so they could sound identical, so they could play a note and sound like one person playing a chord on the saxes. Four tenors, three tenors and a baritone, or an alto two tenors and baritone in some incarnations. The most famous of the Four Brothers was Stan Getz. (originally this group was Getz, Jimmy Giufree, Zoot Sims and Herbie Stewart) Stan was a teen sax genius and could mimic the sound of anyone in the business. Stan Getz skyrocketed to popularily playing the solo "Early Autumn" from a Four Brother's Herman arrangement, but that's another story. Stan is NOT here, unfortunately. The Four Brother personnel changed over time but not the sound.



Here are the 1957 reunion troops: Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Herbie Stewart on tenor and perhaps the greatest baritone sax of all time, Serge Chaloff. Chaloff taught Gerry Milligan's and by all reports could play rings around him on the unwieldy baritone. Chaloff recovered from heroin addiction and cancer is playing here just before his death. It is a shame so little Chaloff is available.



I love to listen to Chaloff here, who has the best tone of the group, playing on "So Blue" and "Swingin Door", but the greatest thing about this album is the perfect matched Brother's tone on every song. This is sort of the opposite of the egocentric sax playing more common at the fifties (and later) where each sax guy wanted a distinctive tone and there was a lot less harmony and melody.



Listen to the chorus on "A Quick One" and "Four Brothers" for that perfectly matched sax chord tone!



In a world of noise, a beautiful lost art.

Recommended for those who love swing, and harmony, (not to mention melody!) Mostly swing with a few ballads



Well recorded and difficult to find."