Take Five

"Take Five" is a jazz standard composed by Paul Desmond. It was first recorded in 1959 and is the third track on Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. 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.

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 (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. The track is written in Eb minor and is in ternary (ABA) form.

Released as a promotional single in September 1959, the track would not achieve commercial success until it became a sleeper hit in 1961. "Take Five" went on to become the biggest-selling jazz single of all time and still receives significant radio airplay.

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*Arrangement of Jazzy Standard* for recorder orchestra with fourteen players.

1. Take Five

Score 32 pages. 14 parts @ 3 pages ea.