According to Desmond’s friend Hal Strack, in 1942 they were listening to the Gene Krupa band, with singer Johnny Desmond. ![]() He was drafted into the Army and joined the Army band, but was not called into combat. When twelve years old he started studying clarinet and would have studied violin, but was dissuaded by his father, who was quoted as saying violinists were “a dime a dozen….with the violin, you’ll starve.” He started on alto saxophone in high school, where he also co-editor of the high school newspaper, where he once interviewed Bob Hope. Born with the name Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, he tracked his ancestry to Moravia, but never had certainty as to the ethnicity. Paul Desmond (– May 30, 1977) was, like Brubeck, a California native. Brubeck followed up by assigning different timings to each of the members Paul Desmond was assigned 5/4 and came up with “Take Five”, which went on to become the biggest hit ever for the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Drummer Joe Morello said that on the song “Sounds of the Loop” he would occasionally change the timing from 5/4 to 7/4 and had urged Brubeck to try some different timings. “Take Five” was written in 1960 by Paul Desmond has a long, fabled history, starting with the 1940s, when Dave Brubeck was traveling in Europe, where he was introduced to jazz performed in times other than 4/4. Stories of Standards is sponsored by ListenUp. This belongs in even the most rudimentary jazz collection.Tune in weekday mornings for Stories of Standards to hear our favorite versions of “Take Five.” Rodney Franks presents Stories of Standards Monday through Friday at 7:50 and 8:50 a.m. Countless other musicians built on its pioneering experiments, yet it's amazingly accessible for all its advanced thinking, a rare feat in any art form. It doesn't just sound sophisticated - it really is sophisticated music, which lends itself to cerebral appreciation, yet never stops swinging. Some have come to disdain Time Out as its become increasingly synonymous with upscale coffeehouse ambience, but as someone once said of Shakespeare, it's really very good in spite of the people who like it. ![]() The other selections are richly melodic as well, and even when the meters are even, the group sets up shifting polyrhythmic counterpoints that nod to African and Eastern musics. Brubeck's classic "Blue Rondo à la Turk" blends jazz with classical form and Turkish folk rhythms, while "Take Five," despite its overexposure, really is a masterpiece listen to how well Desmond's solo phrasing fits the 5/4 meter, and how much Joe Morello's drum solo bends time without getting lost. That's a testament to Brubeck and Desmond's abilities as composers, because Time Out is full of challenges both subtle and overt - it's just that they're not jarring. Buoyed by a hit single in altoist Paul Desmond's ubiquitous "Take Five," Time Out became an unexpectedly huge success, and still ranks as one of the most popular jazz albums ever. But for once, public taste was more advanced than that of the critics. ![]() It was a risky move - Brubeck's record company wasn't keen on releasing such an arty project, and many critics initially roasted him for tampering with jazz's rhythmic foundation. ![]() Dave Brubeck's defining masterpiece, Time Out is one of the most rhythmically innovative albums in jazz history, the first to consciously explore time signatures outside of the standard 4/4 beat or 3/4 waltz time.
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