1956 · Album
The Brothers !
Recorded 1957 · RCA Records (Vik subsidiary) · Produced by Not specified in verified sources
Four Voices, One Sound, Then Solo
The saxophonists sounded as one together but went their merry way when playing alone.
By 1957, when the Four Brothers gathered to record The Four Brothers... Together Again!, Al Cohn had already spent years establishing himself as a skilled, reliable voice in the reed section. This wasn't a debut statement or a peak moment of discovery — it was something steadier: a chance to return to a concept that had worked before, to see what four voices could still accomplish together. The album sits comfortably in his catalog as a solid working record, not a turning point but a continuation of what he did best.
The music itself centers on blended saxophone harmonies — Cohn alongside Herbie Steward, Zoot Sims, and Serge Chaloff, backed by Hank Jones on piano, Jimmy Raney and Barry Galbraith on guitar, and Chuck Flores on drums. When the four horns lock into unison, the sound is warm and purposeful, voices moving together with practiced ease. Marc Myers, reviewing for All About Jazz, called it "a superb album that shows off the enormous reed work of four seasoned swingers," noting that the emphasis on blended harmonies and Young-like saxophone playing would become foundational to West Coast jazz in the years ahead.
This isn't the album to start with if you're new to Cohn, and it's not the record that defined his career. But if you know his work and want to hear him in a setting where the focus is on the collective sound rather than individual heroics, it's worth hearing. The Billboard reviewer understood the point: "The blowing is the thing, and the fellows give fine accountings of themselves."
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Al Cohn
Jazz Alive! A Night at the Half Note 1959
The Four Brothers… Together Again! 1957
The Al Cohn Quintet 1956
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Al Cohn’s Tones 1956
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
