Take Five

The Dave Brubeck Quartet Break the Rules on "Take Five"

Picture the early sixties: jazz is at a creative peak, its great artists pushing the boundaries of rhythm, harmony, and form. Amid that ferment, one quartet achieved something remarkable, a jazz instrumental built on an unusual time signature that became a genuine popular hit. That recording was "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, a sophisticated, infectious piece that became one of the most beloved and influential jazz recordings of all time, and one of the very few jazz instrumentals ever to become a chart hit.

Jazz Innovators at Their Peak

The Dave Brubeck Quartet were among the most popular and innovative jazz groups of their era, led by the pianist Dave Brubeck and featuring the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. The group was known for its sophisticated, accessible approach to jazz and its experiments with unusual time signatures. "Take Five" came from their landmark album Time Out, a record devoted to exploring unconventional meters. The piece was composed by Paul Desmond, the quartet's saxophonist, and built on the unusual five-beat time signature that gave the song its title and its distinctive, infectious rhythm.

An Unusual Rhythm Made Irresistible

The recording is built on its famous five-four time signature, an unconventional rhythm that gives the piece its distinctive, loping feel. That unusual meter, rare in popular music, might have made the song feel academic, but the quartet transformed it into something irresistibly catchy and cool. Desmond's smooth, melodic saxophone carries the famous theme, while Brubeck's piano and the rhythm section lock into the hypnotic five-beat groove. The result is sophisticated yet accessible, intellectually adventurous yet immediately appealing, a piece that makes its unusual rhythm feel completely natural and infectious. It is jazz innovation made irresistible.

A Jazz Hit on the Pop Chart

The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 on September 11, 1961, and climbed to its peak of number 25 on October 9, 1961, logging 12 weeks on the chart. For a jazz instrumental built on an unconventional time signature, reaching the upper reaches of the pop chart was a remarkable and rare achievement, a testament to the piece's extraordinary and universal appeal. Its roughly 29 million YouTube views on this recording reflect its status as one of the most beloved jazz recordings of all time, a piece that has endured as a genuine classic.

A Timeless Jazz Classic

"Take Five" has endured as one of the most beloved and recognizable jazz recordings ever made, a sophisticated, infectious piece that has introduced countless listeners to jazz. The recording's combination of intellectual adventurousness and irresistible appeal made it a landmark, one of the rare jazz instrumentals to achieve genuine popular success. The piece captures the innovation, sophistication, and accessibility that made the Dave Brubeck Quartet so important. Its lasting popularity reflects its status as a timeless classic of jazz.

Making the Unconventional Accessible

What makes "Take Five" so remarkable is the way it transforms a challenging, unconventional rhythm into something irresistibly accessible and cool. The piece's famous five-four time signature was highly unusual in popular music, which is built overwhelmingly on conventional meters. An experiment with such an unconventional rhythm might easily have resulted in something that felt academic or difficult, appealing only to musicians and jazz aficionados. Instead, the Dave Brubeck Quartet achieved something extraordinary, transforming the unusual meter into a hypnotic, infectious groove that listeners found completely natural and irresistibly catchy. That achievement reflected a profound musical sophistication, the ability to take a genuinely innovative and challenging concept and make it not just accessible but genuinely popular. The piece demonstrated that jazz could be both intellectually adventurous and immediately appealing, that sophisticated musical experimentation need not sacrifice accessibility or coolness. Desmond's smooth, melodic saxophone and the quartet's effortless mastery of the unusual rhythm made the innovation feel natural and elegant rather than difficult or showy. That "Take Five" became a genuine popular hit, one of the very few jazz instrumentals ever to reach the pop chart, is a testament to that remarkable balance of innovation and accessibility. The piece introduced countless listeners to the pleasures of jazz, proving that adventurous, sophisticated music could also be infectious and fun. "Take Five" lasts because it captures that rare combination, a genuine musical innovation that is also irresistibly cool and accessible, and that balance of sophistication and appeal is exactly why it has endured as one of the most beloved jazz recordings of all time.

Press play and feel that groove; this is a timeless jazz masterpiece that made the unconventional irresistible.

"Take Five" — The Dave Brubeck Quartet's singular moment on the 1960s charts.