TIME OUT. (Dave Brubeck)

A QUARTET THAT PLAYS WITH TIME.

Time Out was released in 1959, performed by Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Eugene Wright and Joe Morello. The original album contains seven tracks. The group explores time signatures that depart from the usual four-beat pulse while keeping the melodies clear. The tension between a distinctive rhythmic structure and accessible interplay makes the album more than a series of theoretical examples.

BLUE RONDO À LA TURK.

The opening track, Blue Rondo à la Turk, uses a nine-beat meter, with the accents often grouped as two, two, two and three. This gives the theme its brisk, angular motion. Brubeck alternates that structure with a different musical space. You don't have to keep counting the subdivisions: listen for the contrast between the clear accents of the theme and the passages where the quartet seems to breathe more freely.

TAKE FIVE AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE THEME.

Take Five was written by Paul Desmond. His saxophone melody is carried by the five-beat pattern, while Joe Morello's drums develop in their own way. The piece makes clear how the lineup works together to create its distinctive identity. Strange Meadow Lark and Three to Get Ready then offer other perspectives on the group. They keep Time Out from becoming merely a collection built around one famous melody.

TIME OUT ON LP.

The original running order makes the rhythmic differences especially easy to hear. Kathy's Waltz, Everybody's Jumpin' and Pick Up Sticks round out the program with new accents within the same quartet sound. On vinyl, you can follow the album as two cohesive sides. The product page provides details of the edition on offer. This album story uses the original Time Out cover and discusses the original seven-track program, so any extra tracks on other releases aren't confused with the 1959 album.