The Dave Brubeck Quartet, comprised of Brubeck on the piano, Paul Desmond on the alto saxophone, Eugene Wright on the bass, and Joe Morello on the drums, released the album Time Out in 1959 (Time Out). Even on the first listen, one can see how revolutionary this work would soon become. Opening with “Blue Rondo A La Turk,” Brubeck’s Quartet immediately presents a rhythmic, swingin’ tune featuring 9/8 time. “Kathy’s Waltz” explores polyrhythm and “Take Five,” arguably the band’s “titular” work today, too pushes the boundaries of common time with its 5/4 beat. Throughout the album, works are contrasted within each other by style changes and time signature variation; yet despite their unfamiliar form, the tunes still manage to provide a solid,
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Fast melodies, strict rhythm, and complexity made this piece memorable, but utterly impossible to create a new version of: markedly, even today performers of this tune will play a transcription of Desmond’s solo lines. Contrastingly, “Take Five” became a favorite for combos. Boasting a traditional jazz form (consisting of the “head,” a solo section, and then concluding with a repeat of the “head,”) “Take Five” was easy to follow and solo over. It also boasted a simpler chord structure, making the tune accessible to bands looking to transcribe, learn, and perform the …show more content…
The piano part in “Blue Rondo” is fast and exciting, but that was all it was – it did not seem striking different. As a listener in the 21st century, these groundbreaking innovations in the jazz language seem almost commonplace. Multi-meter works, African and Middle-Eastern influences, and abstract jazz are all commonplace in this age. However, looking to when this album was released, one can begin to see the true genius of Brubeck. While “world music” was existent within the U.S. marketplace (commonly under to guise of “African” music traditions,) incorporating it into popular music was not done, especially not to the success that Brubeck found. Utilizing two-over-three polyrhythms and abnormal time signatures in a convincing manner helped open the popular music scene to these devices. Should Time Out have been a flop, I suspect the music industry would have been significantly delayed in incorporating these
Fast melodies, strict rhythm, and complexity made this piece memorable, but utterly impossible to create a new version of: markedly, even today performers of this tune will play a transcription of Desmond’s solo lines. Contrastingly, “Take Five” became a favorite for combos. Boasting a traditional jazz form (consisting of the “head,” a solo section, and then concluding with a repeat of the “head,”) “Take Five” was easy to follow and solo over. It also boasted a simpler chord structure, making the tune accessible to bands looking to transcribe, learn, and perform the …show more content…
The piano part in “Blue Rondo” is fast and exciting, but that was all it was – it did not seem striking different. As a listener in the 21st century, these groundbreaking innovations in the jazz language seem almost commonplace. Multi-meter works, African and Middle-Eastern influences, and abstract jazz are all commonplace in this age. However, looking to when this album was released, one can begin to see the true genius of Brubeck. While “world music” was existent within the U.S. marketplace (commonly under to guise of “African” music traditions,) incorporating it into popular music was not done, especially not to the success that Brubeck found. Utilizing two-over-three polyrhythms and abnormal time signatures in a convincing manner helped open the popular music scene to these devices. Should Time Out have been a flop, I suspect the music industry would have been significantly delayed in incorporating these