Four Brothers (jazz standard)
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"Four Brothers" (1947) is a jazz standard composed by Jimmy Giuffre and performed by the Woody Herman Orchestra.
The song features four saxes (three tenors and one baritone) in an arrangement that gives each "brother" a solo and culminates in a hard-swinging sax section chorus.
The song so typifies the sound of Woody Herman's second "Herd" that the band is also known as the Four Brothers Band. The title also refers to the four musicians that played in the original version: Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and Serge Chaloff. All four played in a light-vibrato style that was originated by Lester Young of the Count Basie Orchestra and popularized by Stan Getz.
An a-cappella rendition with full lyrics was recorded by Realtime as the title track of a 2004 CD. A vocal version was also released by The Manhattan Transfer on their 1978 album Pastiche.