A La Turk

#29: Take Five: Dave Brubeck Quartet. The liner notes to this all time great are very interesting...basically this album was a gimmick. Make an album of songs with bizarre time signatures - Take Five is in 5/4 time - other songs are in 11/4, 7/4, 9/8 and other unusual times. But it worked so well and became one of the best selling jazz discs of all time. Strong from start to finish, whimsical, bright, and devoid of the indulgent solos that often makes jazz difficult to listen to. It is awesome partly because of Brubeck's technical skill on the keys, but mostly because of Paul Desmond's brilliant soulful sax playing. Get it on vinyl for the full effect.