Album Review:
Time Out
- Release Date: 1959
- Genre: Jazz
- Label: Sony
- Total Time: 38:37
- Artist: Dave Brubeck
- Flags: Instrumental, Enhanced CD-ROM
- Rating:
- Styles: Cool, West Coast Jazz
- Track Picks: "Blue Rondo a la Turk," "Take Five"
- Similar Albums: The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan in Paris, Vol. 1, Popo and Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster [Complete], Reunion with Chet Baker, Herbie Harper Sextet,
The Four Brothers Sound , Moonlight in Vermont, MJQ: 40 Years,The Mastersounds in Concert , Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre, The Easy Way, Playboys, Chet Baker in New York, Chet Baker Big Band
Review
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. 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. But for once, public taste was more advanced than that of the critics. 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. 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. 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. 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. Some have come to disdain Time Out as it's become increasingly synonymous with upscale coffeehouse ambience, but as someone once said ofTracks
| Track Title | iTunes | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Blue Rondo a la Turk |  |
Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (6:44) |
| Strange Meadowlark | |
Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (7:22) |
| Take Five | |
Paul Desmond | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (5:24) |
| Three to Get Ready | |
Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (5:24) |
| Kathy's Waltz | |
Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (4:48) |
| Everybody's Jumpin' | Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (4:23) | |
| Pick up Sticks | Dave Brubeck | Dave Brubeck Quartet | (4:16) |
