On May 4th, some people may invoke Star Wars and say “May the Fourth Be With You,” but here at Night is Alive, we see 5/4 as a nod to the time signature of “Take Five,” which is arguably the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s most well-known song.
Dave Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2012. He is often regarded as a leading proponent of cool jazz, which was inspired by bebop and big band and became popular after WWII. His style is characterized by unconventional time signatures (such as 5/4!); juxtaposing rhythms, meters and tonalities; and combining different genres.
He formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951, which had fluctuating members, but was most prolific and famous with the lineup between 1958 and 1967. This lineup included saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello. The U.S. Department of State even sponsored a tour of the quartet in 1958, which featured the notable album Time Out.
Time Out is known for its innovative use of unusual time signatures like 9/8, 6/4 and 5/4. It was recorded at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio in New York City and released in 1959. Time Out album creates a subtle fusion between cool jazz and West Coast influences, and peaked at number two on the Billboard album chart. It was the very first jazz album to sell one million copies, and the standout single, “Take Five” was also the first jazz single to ever sell one million copies!
Despite being associated with Dave Brubeck, “Take Five” was actually first composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond. The story behind the song’s composition is pretty simple: drummer Joe Morello challenged Desmond to compose a piece in 5/4, and so he did! Brubeck then arranged Desmond’s melodies around Morello’s rhythmic ideas, making it a group effort.
“Take Five” is written in quintuple time (5/4) and built around a distinctive blues-scale melody in E♭ minor with a recurring two-chord vamp. The title has a double meaning and refers to both the quintuple meter as well as the colloquial expression “take five,” meaning to take a short break.
So, this year on 5/4, why not take a short break to sit down and really listen to “Take Five”? In our modern age, we’re always rushing to the next item in our jam-packed schedules, but it’s important to slow down and notice the quirks of life, such as the unique sound of a jazz song in 5/4.
Check out Night is Alive’s music on our albums page!
written by Jacqueline Knirnschild
Photo from https://www.davebrubeck.com/
