Take Five

Take Five
Name	Take Five
Artist	The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Album	Time Out
Released	1959
Recorded	1959
Genre	Cool jazz / West Coast jazz
Length	5:24
Label	Columbia Records
Writer	Paul Desmond (composition), Joe Morello (arrangement credit)
Producer	Teo Macero

Take Five

"Take Five" is a jazz composition most closely associated with The Dave Brubeck Quartet and recorded for the landmark 1959 album Time Out. The piece, written by Paul Desmond and popularized by performances featuring Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright, Joe Morello, and Desmond, became one of the best-known examples of jazz experimentation with irregular time signatures, earning widespread acclaim from critics, performers, and audiences connected to Blue Note Records and Columbia Records. Its unusual meter and memorable saxophone melody helped bridge mainstream Columbia Records marketing, Miles Davis-era modernism, and broader popular culture through radio play, television, and film sync placements.

Background and composition

The composition originated in Desmond's melodic sketches during the late 1950s while the Quartet toured venues including Carnegie Hall and festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival. Influences cited in interviews and biographies include exposure to Balkan and Paul Desmond’s admiration for European phrasing found in recordings by artists linked to ENESCO-era collections and recordings by Lester Young, Charlie Parker, and contemporaries in the Miles Davis Quintet. The piece grew from a catchy five-beat ostinato conceived by Desmond and refined through rehearsal with drummer Joe Morello, whose melodic drumming ideas shaped the piece’s rhythmic profile. Producer Teo Macero and pianist Dave Brubeck developed the arrangement at sessions in Columbia Records studios, while bassist Eugene Wright and manager Iola Brubeck contributed practical suggestions about performance structure.

Recording and release

The Quartet recorded "Take Five" during sessions for Time Out at facilities owned by Columbia Records in 1959 with Macero producing. The album’s unconventional program, which included pieces in odd meters inspired partly by ethnomusicological collections and collaborations with contemporary composers associated with Juilliard School, prompted Columbia to release "Take Five" as a single to capitalize on airplay on stations that had previously supported Dave Brubeck Quartet releases and performances at venues like Town Hall (Manhattan). The single and album release strategy benefited from Columbia’s promotional networks and the Quartet’s appearances on programs alongside artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, helping the recording reach audiences beyond dedicated jazz listeners.

Musical structure and analysis

"Take Five" is written in quintuple meter (5/4), with a recurring two-plus-three subdivision that contrasts with more common duple or triple meters used by artists like Duke Ellington or Count Basie. The piece opens with pianist Dave Brubeck comping a vamp over which Desmond’s alto saxophone introduces a lyrical motif characterized by predominantly diatonic lines and open fourths reminiscent of melodic strategies favored by Lester Young and Gerry Mulligan. The form follows an AABA head with extended solo sections: the first solo space features improv by Desmond over the 5/4 vamp, followed by a drum solo by Joe Morello that exploits polyrhythmic displacement and metric modulation techniques discussed in drum pedagogy circles influenced by educators at Berklee College of Music. The harmonic scheme uses modal inflections and ii–V progressions that connect to practices of Miles Davis and John Coltrane without adopting their modal systems fully.

Reception and legacy

Upon release, critics at publications with ties to the jazz community—editors who had covered figures like Thelonious Monk and institutions such as Thelonious Monk Institute—praised the Quartet’s risk-taking. "Take Five" became a defining track of the postwar jazz canon and is frequently cited alongside milestones by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk in surveys of 20th-century music. The composition’s status led to honors and acknowledgments from organizations including the Library of Congress and inclusion in curated lists by institutions such as Rolling Stone (magazine) and the National Recording Registry.

Cultural impact and covers

The melody’s accessibility produced numerous covers and reinterpretations by artists across genres, from The Modern Jazz Quartet interpretations to pop and rock renditions by ensembles connected to The Beatles-era session musicians, and later electronic adaptations referencing producers tied to Motown and Stax Records traditions. Jazz musicians including Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, and vocal groups inspired by Frank Sinatra–era arranging have recorded versions, while arrangers associated with Nelson Riddle–style orchestration produced symphonic adaptations performed by ensembles linked to venues like Carnegie Hall. The tune also entered pedagogical repertoires at institutions such as Berklee College of Music and conservatories associated with Juilliard School, influencing curriculum on odd meters.

Charts and commercial performance

Although many jazz singles rarely achieved mainstream chart dominance, "Take Five" performed strongly on charts maintained by organizations such as Billboard (magazine), where its single release garnered significant airplay and sales, helping Time Out reach high positions on album charts. The record’s crossover appeal placed it in rotation on popular music radio alongside records promoted by Capitol Records and Atlantic Records, translating into steady catalog sales over decades and making it one of Columbia’s enduring jazz catalog sellers.

Use in media and advertising

Producers in film and television placed the recording in diverse contexts, licensing it for use in productions involving studios and networks like Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and broadcasting outlets resembling NBC and BBC programming. Advertising campaigns by corporations with ties to consumer brands sometimes used instrumental covers to evoke sophistication and mid-century modern aesthetics in spots produced by agencies with clients such as companies historically represented in campaigns alongside Esquire (magazine)–style lifestyle branding.

Category:Jazz songs Category:1959 songs Category:Dave Brubeck