trading fours
A jazz practice where soloists alternate four-bar improvised phrases.
In Depth
Trading fours is a conversational improvisational technique where musicians take turns playing four-bar phrases. Typically, soloists trade fours with each other or with the drummer. The practice creates exciting musical dialogue and friendly competition. Trading can also happen in two-bar or eight-bar phrases (trading twos or eights). The drummer's solo breaks during trading fours often generate the most excitement in a live jazz performance.
At the famous 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, drummer Jo Jones and the other musicians traded fours so intensely that the audience rushed the stage in excitement.