“Four” is a bebop-era tune credited to Miles Davis and first recorded by him in 1954, though most historians attribute it to saxophonist Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson. It’s a jam-session staple, thanks to its catchy melody and its long chain of ii-V progressions that move up and down by step.
The form is a 32-bar ABAC, usually in Eb major. It opens on Ebmaj7, then moves to Ebm7 and Ab7, which is a ii-V into Db. Then it steps down through Dbm7 and Gb7, landing on Cbmaj7 (or B major), before working back home through Bbm7 and Eb7 and on to Ab. The second half repeats the shape and ends with a turnaround. Those descending ii-Vs a whole step apart are the core of the tune.
Improvisation strategy: learn one ii-V lick and transpose it to every ii-V in the tune. Since the ii-Vs move by whole step, the same shape slides down neatly, and you’ll hear the sequence clearly. Then connect each ii-V with guide tones: the seventh of the ii chord moves down a half step to the third of the V. Over the Ebmaj7 and Abmaj7 bars, relax with major scale and pentatonic ideas to give the listener a break from dense bebop lines.
Practice by playing roots, then shell voicings through the whole form. Memorize the melody; it’s built from bebop phrases you can borrow in your solo. Play along with the original Miles recordings and with Sonny Rollins’s versions. Start at a medium tempo around 160 BPM before pushing faster.
Recordings to study: Miles Davis’s 1954 studio recording and his 1964 live version on Four & More, which shows how fast the tune can go.
Common mistake: blurring the ii-Vs together. Each one needs a clear resolution or the solo sounds lost. Learn more about the likely composer on Eddie Vinson’s Wikipedia page, and find more bebop and hard bop lead sheets on Minedit.