View source for Take Five

{{short description|Jazz standard recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet}}
{{about}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Take Five
| cover         = 45 label for "Take Five".jpg
| alt           =
| type          = single
| artist        = [[Dave Brubeck Quartet]]
| album         = [[Time Out (album)|Time Out]]
| B-side        = [[Blue Rondo à la Turk]]
| released      = {{Start date|1959|09|21}};<br>May 22, 1961 (reissue)
| recorded      = July 1, 1959
| studio        = [[CBS 30th Street Studio|CBS 30th Street]], New York City
| genre         = 
*[[Jazz]]
*[[cool jazz]]
| length        = {{ubl|{{Duration|m=2|s=55}} (single version)|{{Duration|m=5|s=28}} (album version)}}
| label         = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] 4-41479
| composer      = [[Paul Desmond]]
| producer      = [[Teo Macero]]
| prev_title    = Jazz Impressions of Eurasia
| prev_year     = 1958
| title2        = Blue Rondo à la Turk
| next_title    = Camptown Races
| next_title2   = Short'nin' Bread
| next_year     = 1959
}}

"'''Take Five'''" is a [[jazz standard]] composed by [[Paul Desmond]] in 5 beat per measure, the melody relying on the blues scale, with harmony E-flat minor. It was first recorded in 1959 and is the third track on [[Time Out (album)|''Time Out'']] by the [[Dave Brubeck#Dave Brubeck Quartet|Dave Brubeck Quartet]].<ref name="NYT-20201207">{{Cite news |last=Russonello |first=Giovanni |date=2020-12-07 |title='Take Five' Is Impeccable. 'Time Outtakes' Shows How Dave Brubeck Made It. – An album of previously unheard recordings from the "Time Out" sessions in 1959 reveals the making of a masterpiece. |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/arts/music/dave-brubeck-time-outtakes-review.html |url-status=live |access-date=2020-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425123552/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/arts/music/dave-brubeck-time-outtakes-review.html |archive-date=2021-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schudel |first=Matt |date=2012-05-12 |title=Dave Brubeck, 'Take Five', and his longtime collaborator credited with the jazz legend's biggest hit |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/dave-brubeck-take-five-and-his-longtime-collaborator-credited-with-the-jazz-legends-biggest-hit/2012/12/05/6ae17f16-3f19-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_blog.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723092807/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/dave-brubeck-take-five-and-his-longtime-collaborator-credited-with-the-jazz-legends-biggest-hit/2012/12/05/6ae17f16-3f19-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_blog.html |archive-date=2015-07-23}}</ref> Frequently covered by a variety of artists, the track is the biggest-selling jazz song of all time and a [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] inductee, and is often regarded as the greatest jazz standard of all time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jazz 88.5 Best Jazz songs |url=https://www.jazz88.fm/2024/09/03/jazz88-5s-best-jazz-songs-of-all-time/ |website=Jazz 88.5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jazz24 best jazz songs of all time |url=https://www.jazz24.org/the-jazz-100 |website=Jazz24}}</ref>

[[Dave Brubeck]] was inspired to create an album based on [[odd time signatures]] during his state-sponsored 1958 Eurasia trip. The track was written after the Quartet's drummer, [[Joe Morello]], requested a song in [[Quintuple meter|quintuple ({{music|time|5|4}}) meter]]. Desmond composed the melodies on Morello's rhythms while Brubeck arranged the song. The track's name is derived from its meter, and the injunction, "Take five", meaning "take a break for five minutes". The track is written in [[E-flat minor|E{{music|flat}} minor]] and is in [[Ternary form|ternary (ABA) form]].

Released as a [[promotional single]] in September 1959, "Take Five" became a [[sleeper hit]] in 1961, and then went on to become the biggest-selling jazz single of all time. The track still receives significant radio airplay.

== Background and recording ==
The Dave Brubeck Quartet's [[U.S. State Department]]-sponsored tour of Eurasia in 1958 inspired Brubeck to create an album, ''[[Time Out (album)|Time Out]]'', that experimented with [[odd time signatures]] like ones he had encountered abroad.<ref name="Sarabia" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Fred |url=https://archive.org/details/1959yearthatchan00kapl/page/130 |title=1959: The Year that Changed Everything |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-470-38781-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/1959yearthatchan00kapl/page/130 130–131] |author-link=Fred Kaplan (journalist) |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schudel |first=Matt |date=2008-04-06 |title=Ambassador of Cool |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040303366.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905175542/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040303366.html |archive-date=2017-09-05 |access-date=2018-06-12 |website=washingtonpost.com}}</ref> "Take Five" was composed after most of the album's music had been written.<ref name="Sarabia" /> The Quartet's drummer, [[Joe Morello]], frequently soloed in [[Quintuple meter|{{music|time|5|4}} time]] and asked Brubeck to compose a new piece to showcase his ability.<ref name="Sarabia" /><ref name=":0" /> Brubeck delegated Desmond to write a tune using Morello's rhythm.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ramsey |first=Doug |title=Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond |date=2005-02-01 |publisher=Parkside Publications |isbn=978-0-9617266-7-6 |location=Seattle |page=207}}</ref> Desmond composed two melodies,{{efn|Desmond's second, bridge melody converts the first five notes of the song "[[Sunday, Monday, or Always]]" (a 1943 chart-topper for [[Bing Crosby]]) into a [[rhythm]]ically-altered four-note [[hook (music)|hook]],<ref name="Giddins2018">{{Cite book |last=Giddins |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qpPDwAAQBAJ&q=Bing+Crosby%3A+Swinging+on+a+Star%3A+The+War+Years%2C+1940-1946 |title=Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star: The War Years, 1940–1946 |date=2018-10-30 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-316-41235-3 |access-date=2020-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310010320/https://books.google.com/books?id=-qpPDwAAQBAJ&q=Bing+Crosby%3A+Swinging+on+a+Star%3A+The+War+Years%2C+1940-1946 |archive-date=2023-03-10 |url-status=live}}</ref> repeated during a four-bar [[chord progression]] that descends [[diatonic scale|diatonically]] (C{{flat}}<sup>7</sup>-B{{flat}}m<sup>7</sup>-A{{flat}}m<sup>7</sup>-G{{flat}}<sup>7</sup>).}} which Brubeck arranged in [[ternary form]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Ramsey |first=Doug |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCwIAQAAMAAJ |title=Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond |date=2005-02-01 |publisher=Parkside Publications |isbn=978-0-9617266-7-6 |location=Seattle |page=208 |access-date=2020-01-26}}</ref>

The Quartet first tried recording "Take Five" on June 25, 1959.<ref name="NYT-20201207" /> It proved so arduous that, after 40 minutes and more than 20 failed attempts, producer [[Teo Macero]] suspended the effort because one or another of the members kept losing the [[beat (music)|beat]].<ref name=":1" /> This iteration of the tune used a different [[Groove (music)|rhythmic groove]] than the final version; it was "driving and fast" with a "lopsided Latin rhythm".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alberge |first=Dalya |date=2020-02-08 |title=Take one: lost Dave Brubeck tapes reveal jazz hit originally sounded like 'a bad student band' |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/08/jazz-dave-brubeck-band-take-five-rehearsal-tapes-bad-student-band |access-date=2023-03-25 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> They successfully recorded the single and the album track in two takes at the next session on July 1.<ref name="NYT-20201207" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Stephen A. Crist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dParDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |title=Dave Brubeck's Time Out |date=2019-09-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-021771-6 |page=117}}</ref> Desmond considered the track a "throwaway".<ref name="Sarabia" />  The  Quartet first played "Take Five" for a live audience at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]] on July 5, 1959.<ref name="Clark2020" />

==Composition==
{{Listen
| type         = music
| filename     = Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five.ogg
| title        = "Take Five"
| description  = 30-second music sample encompassing both main and bridge melodies
| pos          = right
}}
"Take Five" is written in the key of [[E-flat minor|E{{music|flat}} minor]],<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last1=Brubeck |first1=Dave |last2=Paul |first2=Desmond |date= 23 September 2002|title=Take Five Sheet Music (Digital Download) |url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0042852 |accessdate= |publisher=Musicnotes.com. [[Derry Music Corporation]] |authorlink2=}}</ref> in [[Ternary form|ternary (ABA) form]]<ref name=":2" /> and in quintuple ({{music|time|5|4}}) time. According to [[Alfred Music|Alfred Publishing]]'s sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, the song has a moderately fast [[tempo]] of 176 [[beats per minute]].<ref name=":3" /> The song is known for its distinctive two-[[chord (music)|chord]] piano/bass [[vamp (music)|vamp]] (E{{flat}}m-B{{flat}}m<sup>7</sup>), [[cool jazz]] saxophone [[melody|melodies]], [[drum solo]],{{efn|Featured in the album version but not the single.}} and unorthodox meter, from which Dave Brubeck derived its name.<ref name="Sarabia">{{Cite news |last=Sarabia |first=Tony |date=2000-11-19 |title=The Story Of Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five' |work=NPR.org |publisher=National Public Radio |url=https://www.npr.org/2000/11/19/1114201/take-five |url-status=live |access-date=2020-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017111613/http://www.npr.org/2000/11/19/1114201/take-five |archive-date=2017-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canter |first=Andrea |date=2008-05-20 |title=Take "Time Out" for Dave Brubeck: At Orchestra Hall, May 25th |url=http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/7210/115/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117160105/http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/7210/115 |archive-date=2010-01-17 |access-date=2011-01-18 |website=Jazz Police}}</ref> Desmond believed the borderline decision to retain his [[Bridge (music)|bridge]] melody was key to the tune gaining popularity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsey |first=Doug |title=Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond |date=February 1, 2005 |publisher=Parkside Publications |isbn=978-0-9617266-7-6 |location=Seattle |page=208}}</ref>

Rhythmically, the five beats to the [[bar (music)|bar]] are split unevenly into 3 + 2 [[quarter note]]s; that is, the main [[accent (music)|accents]] (and chord changes) are on the first and fourth beats. The album version has ten [[section (music)|sections]]:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lawn |first=Richard J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sW2k-9sth7IC&pg=PA237 |title=Experiencing Jazz |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=9781135042684 |page=237}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |url=http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/14141/austinbarnes2012.pdf;jsessionid=4EEDC54A3A4EE9747EB98CDBAABBEFE1?sequence=8 |title=Analysis of selected percussion literature: Concerto for vibraphone and orchestra by Ney Rosauro, Surface tension by Dave Hollinden, Urban sketches for percussion trio by Lon W. Chaffin, "Take Five" by Paul Desmond, and DT supreme by Austin Barnes |last=Barnes |first=Austin Lee |publisher=[[Kansas State University]] |location=Manhattan, Kansas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017114711/http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/14141/austinbarnes2012.pdf;jsessionid=4EEDC54A3A4EE9747EB98CDBAABBEFE1?sequence=8 |archive-date=2017-10-17 |format=PDF |url-status=live |year=2012}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Section !!Description
|-
|[[Introduction (music)|Intro]]|| Drum enters, joined by piano after 4 bars and bass after 8 bars to set up {{music|time|5|4}} rhythm with [[Syncopation|syncopated]] two-chord (E{{music|flat}}m–B{{music|flat}}m<sup>7</sup>) [[vamp (music)|vamp]]
|-
|AA|| Alto sax plays main [[melody]] (A), based on E{{music|flat}}-minor [[Blues scale#Hexatonic|hexatonic blues scale]],{{efn|With one added note, F{{music|natural}}.}} in two similar 4-bar [[phrase (music)|phrases]]
|-
|BB|| Alto sax plays [[bridge (music)|bridge]] melody (B), based on [[G-flat major|G{{music|flat}}-major]] scale, in two similar 4-bar phrases
|-
|AA|| [[Reprise]]
|-
|[[Solo (music)|Solo]] 1|| Alto sax plays [[Improvisation#Music|improvised]] [[Modal jazz|modal]]<ref name="crist108">{{Cite book |last=Crist |first=Stephen A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cvarDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |title=Dave Brubeck's Time Out |date=2019-09-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-021773-0 |page=108}}</ref> solo, based on E{{music|flat}}-minor hexatonic blues scale,{{efn|With two extra notes, F{{music|natural}} and C{{music|natural}}. By contrast, Crist (2019) classifies Desmond's solo as based on the B{{music|flat}}-minor [[Aeolian mode|Aeolian scale]]<ref name=crist108/> with one added note, A{{music|natural}} (the '[[blue note]]' of the E{{music|flat}}-minor hexatonic blues scale).}} over vamp{{efn|There is an [[editing|edit]] in the album track at 2:00 (4 bars after the saxophone solo ends), perhaps to remove a piano solo or to [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|splice]] the two best solos together.<ref name="Clark2020">{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Philip |title=Dave Brubeck: A Life in Time |date=2020-02-18 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-0-306-92165-0}}</ref>}}
|-
|Solo 2|| Drum fades in playing improvised solo, halfway through which the vamp abruptly [[crescendo]]es before fading down to near-silence as solo ends
|-
|AA|| Reprise, cued by intro vamp played softly before alto sax swiftly rejoins with main melody
|-
|BB|| Reprise
|-
|AA|| Reprise
|-
|[[Coda (music)#In popular music|Tag]]|| Alto sax plays repeated 4-note [[Riff#Usage in Jazz and R&B|riffs]] from main melody, ending with final note sustained for 3 bars over vamp
|}

==Release and chart success==
[[File:Paul Desmond from Carl Van Vechten collection.png|thumb|Paul Desmond (1954)]]Although released as a promotional<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crist |first=Stephen A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dParDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 |title=Dave Brubeck's ''Time Out'' |date=2019-09-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-190-21772-3 |page=190}}</ref> single on September 21, 1959,{{efn|Almost three months before its parent album ''Time Out'' was itself released.}} "Take Five" became a [[sleeper hit]] in 1961. In May 1961, the track was reissued  for radio play and [[jukebox]] use,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crist |first=Stephen A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dParDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 |title=Dave Brubeck's ''Time Out'' |date=2019-09-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-190-21772-3 |page=191}}</ref> partly in response to its [[Rotation (music)|heavy rotation]] on the radio station [[WBBR#Early years as WNEW: 1930s–1940s|WNEW]] in New York City.<ref name="Billboard - Apil 28, 1962">{{Cite magazine |date=28 April 1962 |title=Best Selling Jazz Albums |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |magazine=Billboard |page=12 |issn=0006-2510}}</ref> That year, it reached No. 25 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] (October 9),<ref name="billboard1961">{{Cite web |title=Dave Brubeck Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1961-10-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219101205/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1961-10-09 |archive-date=2018-02-19 |access-date=2018-06-11 |publisher=Billboard.com}}</ref>{{efn|Its parent album ''Time Out'', likewise reissued in 1961, peaked on November 27 that year at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Monaural LPs chart (behind only ''[[Judy at Carnegie Hall]]'' by [[Judy Garland]]).}} No. 5 on ''Billboard'''s [[Easy Listening]] chart (October 23)<ref name="billboard2">{{Cite web |title=Dave Brubeck Take Five Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/dave-brubeck/chart-history/asi/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519172116/https://www.billboard.com/artist/dave-brubeck/chart-history/asi/ |archive-date=2022-05-19 |access-date=2018-06-11 |publisher=Billboard.com}}</ref> and No. 6 on the UK ''[[Record Retailer]]'' chart (November 16).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Official Singles Chart Top 50 1961 |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19611116/7501/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801033258/http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19611116/7501/ |archive-date=2017-08-01 |access-date=2017-04-21 |publisher=Officialcharts.com}}</ref> In 1962, it peaked at No. 8 both in the New Zealand ''Lever Hit Parade'' (January 11)<ref name="flavourofnz1962">{{Cite web |title=Lever Hit Parade – 11 Jan 1962 |url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=Lever%20hit%20parades&qyear=1962&qmonth=Jan&qweek=11-Jan-1962#n_view_location |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160602215550/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=Lever%20hit%20parades&qyear=1962&qmonth=Jan&qweek=11-Jan-1962%23n_view_location |archive-date=June 2, 2016 |access-date=May 11, 2021 |publisher=Flavour of New Zealand}}</ref> and the [[Dutch Single Top 100]] (February 17).<ref name="Dutch">{{Cite web |title=Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five |url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Dave+Brubeck+Quartet&titel=Take+Five&cat=s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817113730/http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Dave+Brubeck+Quartet&titel=Take+Five&cat=s |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |access-date=May 11, 2021 |publisher=[[Dutch Charts]] |language=nl}}</ref> The single is a different recording from the [[LP album|LP]] version and omits most of the drum solo.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Soundtrack to a Century – Jazz: The Definitive Performances |type=Liner notes |first=Phil |last=Schaap |year=1999 |publisher=Sony Music Entertainment, Columbia/Legacy |id=J2K 65807}}</ref> It became the first jazz single to surpass a million in sales,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tawney |first=Raj |date=2019-12-13 |title=The Dave Brubeck Quartet's 'Time Out' at 60: Inside Jazz's First Million-Selling LP |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8545907/dave-brubeck-quartet-time-out |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315190207/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8545907/dave-brubeck-quartet-time-out |archive-date=2020-03-15 |access-date=2020-06-15 |website=billboard.com}}</ref> reaching two million by the time Brubeck disbanded his 'classic' quartet in December 1967.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Feather |first=Leonard |date=1967-07-30 |title=The End of an Era in Modern Jazz |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

Columbia Records quickly enlisted "Take Five" in their doomed launch of the {{frac|33|1|3}}-rpm [[stereophonic sound|stereo]] single in the marketplace. Together with a unique stereo edit of "[[Blue Rondo à la Turk]]", they pressed the full album version in small numbers for a promotional six-pack of singles sent to [[Disc jockey|DJ]]s in late 1959.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Callahan |first=Mike |date=2016-02-13 |title=The Stereo Singles Project, Part 2: Stereo-33 Singles Discography (1959–1964) |url=https://www.bsnpubs.com/stereoproject/stereo33s.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210032901/http://www.bsnpubs.com/stereoproject/stereo33s.html |archive-date=2020-02-10 |access-date=2020-01-30 |website=bsn.com |publisher=Both Sides Now Publications}}</ref>

News of Brubeck's death on December 5, 2012, rekindled the popularity of "Take Five" across Europe, the single debuting in the [[Ö3 Austria Top 40|Austrian Top 40]] at No. 73 (December 14)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five |url=https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Dave+Brubeck+Quartet&titel=Take+Five&cat=s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223050051/https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Dave+Brubeck+Quartet&titel=Take+Five&cat=s |archive-date=December 23, 2018 |access-date=May 11, 2021 |publisher=[[Ö3 Austria Top 40]] |language=de}}</ref> and the [[French Singles Chart]] at No. 48 (December 15)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five |url=https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Dave+Brubeck+Quartet&titel=Take+Five&cat=s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612012125/https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Dave+Brubeck+Quartet&titel=Take+Five&cat=s |archive-date=June 12, 2020 |access-date=May 11, 2021 |publisher=[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]] |language=fr}}</ref> while re-entering the Dutch charts at No. 50 (December 15).<ref name="Dutch" />

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Chart performance for "Take Five"
|-
!scope="col"|Chart
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|[[Billboard Hot 100|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name="billboard1961" />
| style="text-align:center;"|25
|-
!scope="row"|[[Adult Contemporary (chart)|US ''Billboard'' Easy Listening]]<ref name="billboard2" />
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
{{single chart |UK|6|song=Take Five|artist=Dave Brubeck Quartet|date=19611116|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand (''Lever Hit Parade'')<ref name="flavourofnz1962" />
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=AMR Top Singles of 1961 |url=https://www.top100singles.net/2013/11/amr-top-singles-of-1961.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017194913/https://www.top100singles.net/2013/11/amr-top-singles-of-1961.html |archive-date=2021-10-17 |access-date=2021-10-17}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
{{single chart |Dutch100|8|song=Take Five|artist=Dave Brubeck Quartet|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart |Austria|73|song=Take Five|artist=Dave Brubeck Quartet|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart |France|48|song=Take Five|artist=Dave Brubeck Quartet|rowheader=true}}
|}
* 

== Future within the Quartet ==
The saxophonist, Desmond, wrote and recorded the similar-sounding (and similarly named) composition "Take Ten" for his 1963 solo album ''[[Take Ten]]'';<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimmerman |first=Brian |date=November 25, 2019 |title=Song of the Day: Paul Desmond – "Take Ten" |url=https://www.jazziz.com/song-of-the-day-paul-desmond-take-ten/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620104157/https://www.jazziz.com/song-of-the-day-paul-desmond-take-ten/ |archive-date=June 20, 2021 |access-date=March 9, 2022 |website=Jazziz}}</ref> he released another rendition of "Take Ten" on his 1973 album ''[[Skylark (Paul Desmond album)|Skylark]]''. Over the next 50 years the group re-recorded it many times, and typically used it to close concerts: each member, upon completing his solo, would leave the stage as in Haydn's [[Symphony No. 45 (Haydn)|Farewell Symphony]] until only the drummer remained ("Take Five" having been composed to feature Morello's mastery of {{music|time|5|4}} time).<ref name="britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Dave Brubeck |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dave-Brubeck |access-date=2015-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612153932/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dave-Brubeck |archive-date=2018-06-12 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sarabia" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thursby |first=Keith |date=2011-03-14 |title=Joe Morello dies at 82; jazz drummer for Dave Brubeck Quartet |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joe-morello-20110314-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017112128/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/14/local/la-me-joe-morello-20110314 |archive-date=2017-10-17 |access-date=2015-05-16 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Upon his death from lung cancer in 1977, Desmond left the [[Performing royalty#Performance royalties|performance royalties]] for his compositions, including "Take Five", to the [[American Red Cross]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gioia |first=Ted |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFhpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA419 |title=The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire |date=2012-09-27 |isbn=9780199937400 |page=419 |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=When Paul Desmond passed away in 1977, his will stipulated that royalties form this song and his other compositions go to the American Red Cross. Since then, the Red Cross has received more than $6 million from Desmond's bequest. |author-link=Ted Gioia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lees |first=Gene |url=https://archive.org/details/catsofanycolorja00leesg |title=Cats of Any Color: Jazz Black and White |date=1995-12-21 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/catsofanycolorja00leesg/page/55 55] |author-link=Gene Lees |url-access=registration}}</ref> which has since received payments averaging well over $100,000 a year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doyle |first=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D3A9ipQcySkC&pg=PA90 |title=Spirited Men: Story, Soul & Substance |date=2004-01-25 |publisher=Cowley Publications |isbn=9781461733034 |location=Lanham, MD |page=90 |quote=The proceeds from his compositions and from his recordings were sent to the American Red Cross, which now earns more than $100,000 a year from his music. In the twenty-four years since his death, Paul Desmond has given the Red Cross more than three million dollars.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2005 |title=Paul Desmond – Celebrating a Legacy of Music and Compassion |url=http://www.redcross.org/email/Legacy/v5n3/PaulDesmond.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212043114/http://www.redcross.org/email/Legacy/v5n3/PaulDesmond.asp |archive-date=2012-12-12 |access-date=2016-11-12 |publisher=American Red Cross}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Take Five was positively received both in its release and current times and is the biggest-selling jazz single of all time.<ref name="britannica" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kniestedt |first=Kevin |date=28 November 2011 |title=The Mix: 100 Quintessential Jazz Songs |work=NPR |publisher=National Public Radio |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/02/19/133479768/the-mix-the-jazz-100 |url-status=live |access-date=2016-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610110603/http://www.npr.org/2011/02/19/133479768/the-mix-the-jazz-100 |archive-date=2016-06-10}}</ref> In 2020, [[The New York Times]] called the standard "among the most iconic records in Jazz".<ref name="NYT-20201207" /> The single was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Erin Carlson,Mike |last2=Carlson |first2=Erin |last3=Barnes |first3=Mike |date=2012-12-05 |title=Legendary Jazz Musician Dave Brubeck Dies at 91 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jazz-musician-dave-brubeck-dies-398200/ |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> It has received subsequently replay in movie and television soundtracks,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alatorre |first=Michael |date=2016-03-19 |title=Same Song, Different Movie: Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quartet |url=https://le0pard13.com/2016/02/19/same-song-different-movie-take-five-by-the-dave-brubeck-quartet/#fn-35232-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728131616/https://le0pard13.com/2016/02/19/same-song-different-movie-take-five-by-the-dave-brubeck-quartet/#fn-35232-1 |archive-date=2020-07-28 |access-date=2020-01-30 |website=le0pard13.com}}</ref> giving it continued radio airplay.

=== Covers and adaptations{{anchor|covers}} ===
"Take Five" is considered a [[jazz standard]]<ref name="Sarabia" /> and has been covered many times in a variety of genres.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watch an Incredible Performance of "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1964) |url=https://www.openculture.com/2019/12/watch-an-incredible-performance-of-take-five-by-the-dave-brubeck-quartet-1964.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Open Culture |language=en-US}}</ref> The first known cover was by [[Carmen McRae]] on the 1961 live album ''[[Take Five Live]]'', supported by Brubeck, [[Eugene Wright|Gene Wright]] and Morello.<ref name="Gioia2012">{{Cite book |last=Ted Gioia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oPuMQx9GZVcC&pg=PA419 |title=The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-976915-5 |page=419}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=2001 |title=Dave Brubeck Discography |url=https://www.jazzdisco.org/dave-brubeck/discography/#610906/dave-brubeck/discography/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719173900/https://www.jazzdisco.org/dave-brubeck/discography/#610906/dave-brubeck/discography/ |archive-date=2020-07-19 |access-date=2020-01-25 |website=jazzdisco.org |publisher=Free Software Foundation}}</ref> For the recording, McRae sang lyrics written by Brubeck's wife [[Iola Brubeck|Iola]]; these lyrics would later be used for other vocal recordings.

[[Jamaica]]n saxophonist [[Val Bennett]] covered the song in 1968 in a [[roots reggae]] style, in {{music|time|4|4}} time, and retitled "The Russians Are Coming".<ref name="Thompson">Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, {{ISBN|0-87930-655-6}}, p. 392</ref> Bennett's version became the theme of British television series ''[[The Secret Life of Machines]]'' in the late 1980s. [[Al Jarreau]] recorded an acclaimed [[scat singing|scat]] version of the song for [[Norddeutscher Rundfunk|NDR Television]] in [[Hamburg]], [[West Germany]] on October 17, 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meeker |first=David |date=2019-04-29 |title=NDR Jazz Workshop 1975 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200026839/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201121731/https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200026839/ |archive-date=2020-02-01 |access-date=2020-02-01 |website=[[Library of Congress|Loc]].gov}}</ref> [[Moe Koffman]] recorded a cover for his 1996 album ''Devil’s Brew''. In 2011, a version by [[Pakistan]]'s Sachal Studios Orchestra won widespread acclaim and charted highly on American and British jazz charts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walsh |first=Declan |date=2011-08-05 |title=Jazz album by Pakistan music veterans storms western charts |work=The Guardian |location=Pakistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/05/pakistan-musicians-top-western-charts-jazz |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308150534/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/05/pakistan-musicians-top-western-charts-jazz |archive-date=2017-03-08}}</ref> Canadian animator [[Steven Woloshen]] created the 2003 animated short film ''[[Cameras Take Five]]'', which animated an improvised series of abstract lines and figures set to the song.<ref>Gregory Singer, [https://www.awn.com/animationworld/fresh-festivals-august-2003s-film-reviews "Fresh from the Festivals: August 2003’s Film Reviews"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217221838/https://www.awn.com/animationworld/fresh-festivals-august-2003s-film-reviews |date=2023-02-17 }}. ''[[Animation World Network]]'', August 27, 2003.</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline = Take Five / Blue Rondo à la Turk (1959)
| title1   = Take Five
| length1  = 2:50
| title2 = [[Blue Rondo à la Turk]]
| length2 = 2:59
}}

== Personnel ==
[[File:Dave Brubeck Quartet 1962.jpg|thumb|upright=0.90|Dave Brubeck Quartet (1962)]] 
* [[Dave Brubeck]]&nbsp;– piano<ref name="NYT-20201207" />
* [[Paul Desmond]]&nbsp;– [[alto saxophone]]<ref name="NYT-20201207" />
* [[Eugene Wright|Gene Wright]]&nbsp;– [[double bass|upright bass]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=2021-01-01 |title=Eugene Wright, bassist with classic Dave Brubeck Quartet, dies aged 97 |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jan/01/eugene-wright-bassist-classic-dave-brubeck-quartet-dies-aged-97 |access-date=2023-03-10 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20201207" />
* [[Joe Morello]]&nbsp;– drums<ref name="NYT-20201207" />

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|tT9Eh8wNMkw|Watch the Dave Brubeck Quartet perform "Take Five" to close their episode of the [[RTBF|RTB]] Television series ''Jazz pour tous'', taped on October 10, 1964 in Liège, Belgium}}
* [https://genius.com/Carmen-mcrae-take-five-lyrics Licensed lyrics of this song] at [[Genius (website)|Genius]]

{{Paul Desmond}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1959 songs]]
[[Category:1961 singles]]
[[Category:1950s jazz standards]]
[[Category:Cool jazz standards]]
[[Category:Jazz compositions in E-flat minor]]
[[Category:Columbia Records singles]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Compositions in the Real Book]]