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Kelly Sill Takes Five
Kelly Sill Takes Five
Date Posted: July 23 2011
Written By: Kelly Sill
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“Take Five”––
On the record Time Out
1959 (originally issued as CS 8192) by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Dave Brubeck – Piano
Paul Desmond – Alto saxophone
Eugene Wright – Bass
Joe Morello – Drums
00:01 Here begins perhaps the most recognizable intro in jazz history.
00:14 The intro is longer than I remember it––they went 16 bars.
00:25 Paul Desmond is so beautifully delicate.
00:34 Eloquent.
00:41 Brubeck is in the background; different from the way that he sometimes plays.
00:54 It’s really Joe Morello and Desmond at this point. Gene Wright and Brubeck are really in the background.
01:07 Desmond continues the vibe of the head.
01:16 He always has beautiful construction of his ideas.
01:27 His playing in 5/4 is very organic, not synthetic.
01:33 For Desmond, that’s a very emotional moment.
01:49 He lets it down very nicely.
01:58 This sounds like an interlude… but it’s actually the beginning of the drum solo.
02:07 This is the beginning of the drum solo, even though it doesn’t quite sound like it.
02:12 Now this is clearly the drum solo.
02:22 Morello is really stressing beat two of each bar.
02:33 Now he’s playing more across the bar line.
02:38 Nice use of space––very dramatic!
02:51 I like the phrasing.
03:00 Great pauses.
03:07 There is a show of technical prowess.
03:11 Some pitch problems between the bass and the piano.
03:19 Now Joe’s getting aggressive.
03:29 It feels good.
03:39 Now that sounds like an interlude.
03:50 I can’t quite tell what they’re doing with the arrangement.
03:56 It’s still a drum solo.
04:13 Joe’s still messing with it.
04:18 He’s coming down now.
04:22 Whoa, that was quick with the out-head!
04:30 Back to the sound of the beginning––Joe’s ride
cymbal seems really loud to me.
04:45 Paul Desmond makes this cut work.
05:12 They’re setting it down nicely––ride cymbal seems really loud still.
05:21 They seem surprised that they were ending.
05:23 A classic cut!
“Take Five” was written by Paul Desmond as a vehicle for Joe Morello to solo in 5/4 time.
I’ve also heard that the tune initially had the bridge as the “A” section, and the “A” section as the bridge––Dave Brubeck changed the form (this song form is AABA). It reached Number Five in the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In my gigging experience of over 40 years,“Take Five” is one of the most requested tunes.
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