Song · Dave Brubeck Quartet
“Take Five” by Dave Brubeck Quartet
From the album Time Out (2001)
“Take Five” by Dave Brubeck Quartet appears on 11 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 2001 on the album Time Out. Its best result is #4 on the WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #272 indie & aaa song of all time.
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The Dave Brubeck Quartet cut "Take Five" in 1959 for Time Out, the Columbia album where it sat third in line, and it's the jazz record people who don't own jazz records know by heart. Paul Desmond wrote it after drummer Joe Morello dared him to come up with something in 5/4, and Brubeck built the arrangement around Morello's rhythms. The title is a pun on the odd meter and on grabbing a quick break.
What you hear is a two-chord vamp that loops like a hypnotist's watch, a cool, bluesy melody from Desmond, and a groove that limps and swings at the same time. It was a slow starter, a sleeper that broke through in 1961, and no jazz single has ever outsold it. It's in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2026 CBS News put it among 250 essential American songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 132 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2009 | 22 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2012 | 454 | WYEP | WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown | 500 |
| 2014 | 75 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 80 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 54 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2023 | 299 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2023 | 152 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2025 | 90 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
| 2026 | 287 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
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