"Take Five"

Composers
It is a jazz standard composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond and originally recorded by the
Dave Brubeck Quartet for their album.
Paul Desmond was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work
with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, "Take Five". He was
one of the most popular musicians to come out of the cool jazz scene. Desmond produced a
light, melodic tone on the alto saxophone, trying to sound, he said, "like a dry martini." With a
style that was similar to that of Lee Konitz, one of his influences, he quickly became one of the
best-known saxophonists from the West Coast's cool school of jazz. Much of the success of the
classic Brubeck quartet was due to the juxtaposition of his airy style over Brubeck's sometimes
relatively heavy, polytonal piano work.
David Warren Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered one of the
foremost exponents of cool jazz. Many of his compositions have become jazz
standards including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranged from
refined to bombastic, reflecting both his mother's classical training and his own improvisational
skills. His music is known for employing unusual time signatures as well as superimposing
contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities. Brubeck organized the Dave Brubeck Quartet in
1951, with Paul Desmond on alto saxophone. They took up a long residency at San
Francisco's Black Hawk nightclub and gained great popularity touring college campuses,
recording a series of albums with such titles as Jazz at Oberlin (1953), Jazz at the College of the
Pacific (1953), and Brubeck's debut on Columbia Records, Jazz Goes to College (1954).

Analysis
Genre: Jazz
Title: Take Five – Dave Brubeck Quartet
Composer/Artist: Paul Desmond- alto sax. Formed in 1951 by Brubeck and Desmond, Joe
Morello joined the band in ’56 to play drums and Eugene Wright was recruited in ’59 to
complete the quartet.
Mood: Smooth, graceful, playful.
Texture: Homophonic texture. Saxophone melody accompanied by piano chords and bass.
Dynamics/Articulation: The drum intro with piano, both are played mezzo piano. The
saxophone varies from mezzo piano to forte. The drums are played mezzo forte during the
solo(2.14). The piano and bass swell from pianissimo to mezzo forte during this solo(3.00-3.25).
Instrumentation/use of Technology: Piano, alto saxophone, double bass and drums. The drums
are panned left and the piano to the right, bass and drums are center. Reverb on the drums and
saxophone.
Time Signature: 5/4
Tempo: 168 bpm
Key: E-Flat minor
Structure: Instrumental record with A and B parts and drum solo. Starts with a five bar drum
intro, part A begins with piano chords and bass being introduced during the fifth bar of piano.
Part B begins after twenty bars and lasts for eight bars(0.36-.0.50). The drum solo is played over
the part A chord progression(2.00-4.22). Part B is played again(4.37-4.51) before part A is
played once more for sixteen bars to end the track.
Notation: Part A chord progression
Overview of Style: Jazz originated in New Orleans, United States in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. It developed from roots in Blues and Ragtime. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue
notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation.
Intro Drum enters, joined by piano after 4 bars and bass after 8 bars to set up 5/4 rhythm
with syncopated two-chord (E♭m–B♭m7) vamp

AA Alto sax plays main melody (A), based on E♭-minor hexatonic blues scale, in two similar
4-bar phrases

BB Alto sax plays bridge melody (B), based on G♭-major scale, in two similar 4-bar phrases
AA Reprise

Solo 1 Alto sax plays improvised modal solo, based on E♭-minor hexatonic blues scale,[h] over
vamp
Solo 2 Drum plays improvised solo, halfway through which the vamp
abruptly crescendoes before fading to low volume as solo ends
AA Reprise, cued by intro vamp played softly before alto sax swiftly rejoins with main
melody
BB Reprise
AA Reprise
Tag Alto sax plays repeated 4-note riffs from main melody, ending with final note
sustained for 3 bars over vamp