Dave Brubeck´s 5

Take five from Dave Brubeck is the most common known song in a quintuple meter, or beat. The easy jazz piano is been followed by the drums, moving the beat slow and smooth. On top, the saxophone gives the song it´s famous and wellknown melody. The song was recorded in august 1959.

Actually, the song is not written Brubeck himself, but by the saxophonist  Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) 

"He was an American jazzalto saxophonist and composer, born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five". He was not only one of the most popular musicians to come out of the West Coast's "cool jazz" scene, but also the possessor of a legendary and idiosyncratic wit." (Wikipedia.org)

The song was inspired by Turkish music, when Brubeck was on a tour sponsed by the State Department. The music, supposingly based on Bulgarian mfolk music, was in a in western music rare 9/8. Brubeck decided to make an album not based on the traditional 4/4 in jazz.

It was the first jazzquintuple song to become mainstram, reaching the Billboard in 1961.

I like the song because it has a smooth swing and brings the 5/4 to become an agile beat. Probably a lot of people don´t realise that it is an "off beat", just feel is somehow uncomfortable to to dance on. It doesn´t even matter part of the song is a drum solo, which makes it even more spedctacular that the song became mainstream.

The song has been covered dozens of time. In some of the future entrys I´ll look at some of them. Both piano and guitar are popular instruments to play the song, apart from all types of copper instrument like sax, trompet and so on.

The one thing missing on the original track are vocals. Not that music should have vocals, but to make a 5/4 beat work is much more easy withour vocals than with them. To make a popular song work with a lyrics in quintuple beat is much more a challenge. But Dave Brubeck wrote lyrics two years after the song was recorded together with his wife. The first to sing this was Carmen McRae. Al Jarreau had a fabulous live version in 1977.

Take five

"Take Five" is a jazz piece, actually written by Paul Desmond and not by Dave Brubeck. It was performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out.

On wikipedia you'll find a list over all the covers made through the years. 

Try this one from the Norwegian pianist Bugge Wesseltoft. (Spotify needed)

This blog is dedicated to the quintuple beat, or 5/4, in music. As the most known representative for this unusal but beatifull beat, the name is Take Five, the song Dave Brubeck designet. Everybody knows it, but few people grab the beauty of the 5/4th.

There are some other powerfull examples. "Everything's allright" from Jesus Christ Superstar and the second movement in Deep Purples "Concerto for group and orchestra" are two of my favorite music pieces in this beat. They show that the qui tuple beat can back beautifull songs allmost without most listeners understanding why the music is moving so smoothly moving forwards.

Another good example is the powerfull "Gula Gula" from Mari Boine. 

Also other unusual, or irregular beats will find place, like the 7/8, the 9/8 and the 11/8. But it will be about somehow nice music, not very experimental project. The rytm is base.

This is just the start, and we will see where it ends.