676.) Tues Oct. 9, 2018

Originally Published on Oct. 9, 2018

Jazz Week

The Song of the Day is:

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Take Five”

From the album Time Out (1959)

We’re starting Jazz Week off with a heavy hitter.  Naturally, credit goes to the bandleader Dave Brubeck for this, the best selling jazz single of all time, but I don’t want to get too far into this entry without mentioning Paul Desmond.  Desmond is the alto saxophone player who plays the famous melody on this song, which is fitting because he wrote the song.  Desmond was a bandleader himself, but this is Brubeck’s project.  Brubeck, the pianist, organized a set of six other tunes which he had written (“Blue Rondo a la Turk” and “Strange Meadow Lark” are also classics).  The theme for the album was rhythmic exploration.  The title “Take Five” actually refers to the time signature of 5/4.  Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass round out this classic quartet.  In 2009, Brubeck was honored by the Kennedy Center.  He died in 2012, a day shy of his 92nd birthday.  “Take Five” is one of the most recognizable jazz songs ever, its even recognizable to people who know nothing of jazz.