Jazz Song of the Month: Take Five
The amazing thing about the jazz standard “Take Five” is not just that it’s the #1 jazz song of all time, according to Jazz24.org, but that the time signature of the piece (5/4) was never used in popular western music before then. It sounds different at a very deep level.
Dave Brubeck wanted a whole album of time signatures that were unusual to western listeners. “Take Five” by Paul Desmond (on saxophone) was just one. The name of the 1959 album “Time Out” was a nod to these weird meters.
At the time “Take Five” was released, Dave Brubeck was already a very successful jazz musician–he was on the cover of Time magazine four years earlier. Yet, in spite of his success, he tried something no one had ever done: music in strange time signatures. He took a big risk; it worked.
Dave Brubeck was a pianist who suffered nerve damage and life-long pain from a youthful injury to his spinal chord. It affected his hands, and resulted in his unusual “blocky” style of jazz piano, featuring complex chord progressions instead of intricate finger work, which he couldn’t easily play. He worked with what he had. It worked.
So, let’s admire Dave Brubeck who died in 2012 for:
1) taking a risk on a new approach at a time when he was already successful
2) making the most of his abilities–or disabilities–in an unconventional way
Not just great music, but an inspiration.
Here’s a link to the album at iTunes. Look for “Take Five (live)” at the bottom of the list.