Factoids:
- Written by saxophonist Paul Desmond (1924-1977) and premiered on The Dave Brubeck Quartet's album "Time Out" in 1959
- How "Take Five" came to be...
- Morello came up with an awesome 5/4 riff and Brubeck wanted Desmond to write a melody to go along with it
- Desmond was thinking, "Um...I don't think so. No one does 5/4 time." But Brubeck insisted
- Desmond came back a few days later and showed Brubeck what he came up with...2 small phrases
- Brubeck smiled and said, "Ok. Well, play that first part twice, then the second part, and then repeat the first part again. There's your song."
- So the whole tune started with a small drum riff made up by Joe Morello (whereas most charts start with a melody)
- Written in 5/4 meter
- Although it wasn't the first jazz chart in the unusual meter, it was one of the most popular reaching #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 list
- Desmond left all of the royalties for his compositions and performances to the American Red Cross which takes in about $100,000 per year
- Artists of The Dave Brubeck Quartet:
- Sax - Paul Desmond
- Piano - Dave Brubeck
- Bass - Gene Wright
- Drums - Joe Morello
Bonus:
Check out another vocal rendition of "Take Five". They use the lyrics written by Dave Brubeck's wife.
