LP #2: Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Back in the days when I was (literally) half the man I am now, I used to dabble a bit in the playing side rather than listening to the flip side. Specifically, I was classically trained while dabbling a little into jazz. Jazz is a medium that takes a vague outline, whether that is tempo, melody or accompaniment and encourages the artists involved to add, supplement and express freely over that template. It is a genre that I have fallen in and out with over the years as it best served with live performance where you, the listener, can connect with the atmosphere in the room and the emotion in the musician. I can also say that my greatest moments in music came through the genre.

I'm not trying to be snobbish about my experiences, as you can certainly achieve this while listening to music, where you are transported to another place and having that out of body experience where your soul is lifted to another place while your ears absorb what is thrown at it. However, there is no substitute for actually being in the middle, participating, contributing and embellishing to that whole to make it greater. I recall times where I was playing solo and the line had blurred between playing and listening.

My vinyl experience has also coincided with my enjoyment of jazz in many of its forms. It's a fascinating medium where I listen to so-called classic recordings and am partly disgusted by the lack of technique in places while simultaneously marvelling at how it all works despite this.

So we come to one of the legendary recordings in the history of the genre, Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. It is worth pointing out that jazz recordings often are not about the headline maker but about who is accompanying them at the time. While Dave Brubeck is the headliner, it is often the ensemble cast that make or break how successful the recording is. Contrary to what I said above, the standout feature of this album is how impeccable the technique each of the musicians presents. It is also worth pointing out that this album is a behemoth of 7 tracks.

Side A   

The album starts with 'Blue Rondo a la Turk' which plays with an interesting tempo and beat that changes up how comfortable you can feel while it trundles along. I really like how many of the tracks on the album start with a piano motif that could easily have been part of a classical composition in the 1800s but the use of syncopation and accent transform the piece into one with real drive. The first track more so that any other uses accent in place of drums to push the drama of the piece along.
The first couple of minutes of the track alternate tempo and feel before settling down to a more standard swing rhythm that features a beautiful sax improvisation that is both tuneful and beautifully played. Often I hear the saxophone played with a really loose ligature and it frustrates. I can't separate my classical training with how the music is played. It doesn't happen at all in this album and it makes for one of the most pleasurable experiences as Paul Desmond plays with a tenderness and agility that blends in with the return of the accented and driven accompaniment. It's a really strong start and one that I get something new out of every time I hear it.

Track 2 is the beautiful 'Strange Meadow Lark' that starts with Dave Brubeck something that is reminiscent of many of a hotel lobby piano performance in how it pours with emotion. I often envisage that person playing with their soul as others treat it like background noise as they pour over their day's work. This only serves as the intro to another wonderful saxophone solo that dances with the more playful Brubeck improvisation while the drums patter and the double bass stalls and punctuates. The quality of the phrasing in the solos is truly stunning and is hard to believe it was anything but the intention when they were practising putting this together. The piece starts to lilt and swing around two thirds of the way through before everything else drops out leaving Brubeck to finish with his lonely piano playing to the empty hotel lobby.


'Take Five' means that is not until Track 3 till you get to the showstopper. I say showstopper in the sense that it is one of the most recognisable pieces of jazz music of the last century. I find it hard to comment on songs like this. Songs that have slipped so far into the public consciousness that it hard to dissect them in a meaningful way without reverting to the memory of the advert of film where it was famously used and heard. Take Five starts out differently from the first two tracks in that it uses the saxophone as the introduction to the piece. The main melody twists and turns as the phrasing once again plays with the listener as it pitches up and down. The drummer tinkles on the ride cymbal as if it is raining lightly outside as everyone else is relaxing on the inside. All leading to....
an incredible drum solo that changes tempo and meter as it teases and delays the return of the main motif. It could pause and tease it for longer in my opinion as there is real power and subtlety in the syncopation, culminating in a slow crescendo to the return of the melody that started it all off. More so than any other track on this side, it sticks most closely to a constant swing beat.

Side B

'Three to Get Ready' starts off side B in odd style. You could be listening to a Chopin Waltz as it begins. It is only the tinkle of the cymbal that even hints that this is not the case. It only takes a couple of measures before the track kicks off into a swing time - or does it? - as once again Brubeck plays with meter of 3 time waltz and 4 time swing. The 3 time melody is broken up with an improvised swing time where the fill is passed around the instruments. The song culminates in a traditional swing time bass, drums and solo impro section where the bass and piano dance around each other not only in melody but in tempo and style. While seemingly at odds with each other, the natural timbre and register of the instruments mean that neither get in each others way and result in a fascinating combination. 

Track 5 is 'Kathy's Waltz' which quirkily doesn't start in 3 time but traditional 4 swing time. It again sticks with the jaunty, almost playful introduction before the song breaks down into a more substantive piece where the solos are less showy and more akin to a play on words. The drum playing by Morello is distinctive in that it is almost at odds with everyone else's playing of the waltz. The drums keep on playing a quick swing before they seem to ultimately lose the battle and give way to the waltz as the victor. 

'Everybody's Jumpin' keeps the theme of a record which is joyful and full of positive verve as the quartet present a traditional tune that sticks to a the template I laid out at the start. Constant tempo and meter that has a central theme that won't leave us, returning just as one soloist threatens to run away with the song. Everyone takes a turn as it bops along before returning once again to the opening refrain. 

The album closes with 'Pick up Sticks' which is dominated by a walking bass line that plays with the time of the song as it built to always have the listener uncomfortable as a single repetition of it doesn't last a full measure. In this track, more so than any other on the album, the core construct of playing with time is exposed. It's a testimony to the craft and the skill of each of the musicians here that it leaves me, the listener, questioning whether I am hearing it correctly or whether there is something out of 'time' with the track. The track and album ultimately fades out as the drums are once again left to have the last word as they patter and tap the listeners ear. 

Final Thoughts

It is possibly a recurring theme that I only write about albums with effusive praise. There is such a quantity of music in the world that it seems silly to spend an evening listening and critiquing that which doesn't hold your attention or desire for more than one sitting. 

Having said that, Time Out is a showcase for the genre of expressionism through music that is Jazz. It is not simple enough to call this swing as it presents in that genre but plays with so much more. 

The lasting impression is one for which I have nothing but admiration for all the musicians, but ultimately I was left in awe by the saxophone playing of Paul Desmond. I cannot emphasise how beautiful I find his technique in terms of tone and phrasing. It is something all musicians should aspire to and led me down a youtube rabbit hole in search of videos of watching the man play.

With my final thought I'll present this clip of him playing the truly wondrous Emily. Enjoy!