Jazz Anniversary: July 1, 1959, New York “Take Five”

“Take Five” recorded on July 1, 1959
by Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Gene Wright & Joe Morello at 30th Street Studio, New York for Columbia (Time Out)

This song is recognized as one of the biggest hits in jazz history, containing a mystery that emerges at the 1 minute 50 second mark. The album title is a play on words between "odd time signatures" and "a short break," and it is a quirky project where pianist Dave Brubeck, who is well-versed in contemporary music, performs jazz mixed with odd-time signature tracks in a relaxed, after-hours style.

Furthermore, the song title in Japanese carries the double meaning of "a break" and "let's play in 5/4 time." It was composed by Paul Desmond, who plays the alto saxophone with a shakuhachi-like tone, and here he develops a melody-focused solo using blues scales over a 5/4 odd time signature.

The star of this track is drummer Joe Morello, who takes the lead with an irregular rhythm from the very beginning and delivers a solo overflowing with dynamism in the middle section. There is also a story that he mastered exotic rhythms he heard while on an overseas tour, which led to this work.

Desmond's improvisation is kept even more minimal than usual, and both the piano and bass thoroughly repeat the same pattern from start to finish. It is perhaps because of this steady rhythm keeping that the song becomes unique, with the drums playing improvisational, irregular riffs throughout, and this, combined with the accessibility of the melody that contradicts the complexity of the rhythm, may be why it became such a huge hit.

A mystery occurs at one minute and fifty seconds after the saxophone solo ends. It might just be the version I have on hand, but the low-to-mid frequencies suddenly and abruptly swell, while the high frequencies are conversely suppressed, which feels unnatural. Although I searched various places on the web, I could not find any evidence for this, but I suspect that tape editing by Teo Macero—the legendary producer I mentioned in the February 15th featured song, who even intervened in the recordings of masters like Miles Davis and the genius Thelonious Monk from a commercial perspective—was applied here as well. For my speculations regarding Macero's tape editing of Brubeck's performances, please also see my article here.

Since Macero himself stated in an interview that there were no piano solos by Brubeck, I can't help but suspect that there was originally a Brubeck piano solo after this point, which was cut to transition into the drum solo. On the other hand, Macero also stated that he was strict about not tampering with Brubeck's tapes, so it is difficult to say for sure, but what do you all think?

This big hit was not born easily. First, the band played it 20 times over 40 minutes on June 25th, about a week before the recording date, but it didn't go well. So, Macero stopped it and they tried again on July 1st, finally managing to complete the performance. And even after it was released, it didn't sell at all for two years. It seems that it became one of the best-selling records in jazz history only after Macero distributed the under-three-minute single version he edited to radio stations in Chicago. The single version is here. It is short, and you can tell that Desmond's solo is a different take with a completely different approach.

How did you find this short performance? Since the drum solo is almost entirely cut and there is a break after Desmond's solo just like in the album version, I think that is also a tape-cut edit by Teo Macero.

Macero tells an anecdote about how a capable producer will do anything to make a sale: when he received a complaint call from the composer, Desmond, claiming that an outtake was used in this single version, he replied, "Have you checked your bank account? It sold because I edited it, so it's fine, right? Bye!" and hung up. Although he says he edited it, there is no explicit mention of tape cutting, so the mystery remains unsolved. If anyone knows the answer to this mystery, please let me know.

Now, Desmond, with his shakuhachi-style saxophone, basically paired with guitarist Jim Hall for his solo projects. I read an article stating that this was because, under his contract with Brubeck, he was not allowed to perform with any pianist other than Brubeck for his own solo projects. I don't know if it's true, but it is certain that he often had Jim Hall as an accompanist for his solo work, and even after the quartet disbanded, he eventually performed with Brubeck again. By the way, his solo performances with piano were often in settings like with an orchestra, not a jazz combo, or using an electric piano, so the information seems credible.

The Columbia 30th Street Studio in Manhattan, where this music was recorded, can be called a sacred place that produced numerous masterpieces regardless of genre, but this year was a particularly good year for jazz, as it was also the place where Miles' masterpiece, "Kind of Blue," was recorded in March and April of that same year. And that, too, was handled by Macero. Remarkably, in just these six months, Macero and the studio achieved the feat of releasing "Kind of Blue," the best-selling jazz album in history, and this work, "Time Out," the second best-selling.

The memorable album cover for this work was created by Neil Fujita, a second-generation Japanese-American from Hawaii who experienced both internment and military service during World War II. He even worked on such famous designs.

If you are interested in the performances of Paul Desmond and Jim Hall, please enjoy them here.

Finally, if you are interested in the previous year at Columbia 30th Street Studio, please check out the famous performances recorded at the same studio and their commentary. This was done by another famous producer, George Avakian.

Have a fun day filled with odd time signatures.