Time Out

It was nice. I’m sure if I understood music theory it would be really interesting. But I’m stupid.

Do ya like jazz? Do ya like other people knowing you like jazz? Then play Time Out at your nearest social gathering and tell everyone that you enjoy odd time signatures and polyrhythms while you tap your feet to one of the most played jazz tunes ever. You're not normal, you're weird in all the right ways! Lol all joking aside, I fucking love this album, and why shouldn't I? Just like with the Beatles, the reason so many people like the music is because it is genuinely incredible, and Dave Brubeck does it here too. One gripe though - whenever I play this album, I always get a twinge of "maybe I should be playing some jazz by a black artist instead" simply because I've found myself listening to a lot of jazz by white guys. But that doesn't detract from the songs. Unsquare Dance is my favorite here.

Smoked a joint and listened to this on vinyl and reading the jacket notes. Got lost in the music. Take 5 is a masterpiece. Put on Miles in a Silent Way after, I don't listen to my jazz collection enough, but I digress. Time Out is a 5.

Before I give my thoughts I want to honor the fact that jazz music was traditionally a black musical style that some white people liked and became famous with in places that many black musicians were not allowed to go. That being said- I really like this Jazz album- I was very productive listening to it because jazz piano is my favorite.

This is (probably) the ultimate Cool Jazz record. Something you put on and sip a martini and cook a steak to. You can really hear the West Coast laid back playing on this as opposed to the busy New York playing that was coming out of Blue Note (although this was recorded in NYC). It produced 3 jazz standards just on the first side for goodness sake. Favorite song: Take Five and Blue Rondo à la Turk Least favorite song: don’t really have one

First song was good, then I forgot it was playing. Not too bad 5/4 this, 9/8 that, how about 3/5

One of the first jazz albums to come into my possession. This could be seen as 'baby's first jazz' in some respects, as it's a light, clean listen with enough toe-tappers for popular appeal. However, even repeated exposure to 'Take Five' hasn't dimmed its lustre. There's a high degree of sophistication at play here - Brubeck was influenced by the rhythms of Balkan and Bulgarian folk music, so 'Take Five', 'Blue Rondo...' step outside of 4/4 time and take the cool paradigm into slippery places. Five stars all the way, I spin this one frequently.

I had no idea what to expect but definitely found myself loving it. During the opening to the first track I had a hard time believing it's a 50's jazz track as it sounded much more like the opening to a 80's prog rock or progressive metal track. The rest of the album sounded more like I imagined highly technical cool jazz to sound like. But unlike other examples of this style I never felt bored with it. Just really good music to have playing which is both excellent in the background and for the occasional more intense listening during the particularly playful segments. Will save this one to re-listen for sure.

I don’t have anything smart to say, for whatever reason I had never really listening to Dave Brubeck before this and I definitely need to spend more time checking his music out cuz this was great.

Doesn’t offend

all instrumentals. I don't mind instrumentals (read: lofi, read: chopin) but these ones were boring af.

Even this perpetual jazz neophyte can hear how peerless this is. The one instantly recognizable piece took on greate depth and nuance for me in its proper context here.

There’s something about this record I just don’t like, not sure what it is. It’s fine, but ultimately just kind of…eh. Like, it makes sense that it’s kind of a gateway record for people to get into jazz- it’s not particularly challenging and it’s easy on the ears, but after two listens it’s kind of driving me nuts.

One of my all time favourite albums and maybe the only jazz album I really like. The groove of about every track totally gets me. Dave Brubecks simple piano style is great and Joe Morello is phantastic on the drums (e.g. on take five, which they basically created primarily for the drum solo, and I find it ironic when radios cut the song before the solo).

My family used to listen to this CD in the car all the times and Take Five is one of my dad's favorite songs, so this album has heavy nostalgic power for me! The music is so masterful and wonderful <<chef's kiss>>

A classic of cool jazz, and jazz as a greater whole. Dave Brubeck is so precise on the keys that he sounds like a MIDI file, and the rest of the team backs him up superbly, particularly Desmond and Morello on the highlight Take Five.

Another watershed jazz album. Brubeck's playing is complex and experiments with time signatures of various more 'exotic' influences. This coupled with Paul Desmond's acrobatic saxophone playing make this album groundbreaking and approachable.

I feel like a broken record (heh) on these, but I have loved all the instrumental albums not by Miles Davis. I've heard a lot of these before but never as an album. Great stuff.

Inoffensive, too easy listening. Willing to give it a second chance and not an album I think I'd ever buy. Missing the bite of the jazz I love: Coltrane, Coleman, and Davis.

It wasn't amazing, but it was easy to listen to, quite pleasant and interesting to hear hints of what would come in the following decades. There were definitely some parts that sounded like the beginnings of Progressive Rock for example, particularly King Crimson. Another one that was hard to rate. It felt like a pretty strong 3, not quite enough for a 4.

Such a great album. Everything about this reeks of hep cat coolness...but in a good way! And Joe Morello's ride cymbal on "Take Five" is unparalleled. It doesn't quite make it to four stars for me because I'm not a jazz guy. 3 1/2 would be more like it.

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with Jazz, and this leans more towards the latter side. Everybody knows Take Five; it's nice, but a bit boring for my taste. The album as a whole is much too cerebral. It's Jazz by the (odd) numbers, but it doesn't speak to me. 2/5

Take my five stars!

I know every discordant piano chord, every lick of Paul Desmond's clarinet and honed my chops as a drummer learning 5/4 and 7/8 from the master, Joe Morello. My indie/new wave band introduced me to its genius at the age of 16 and I've loved it ever since. Jazz with a wink and a smile on its face. Pure enjoyment. Go on songwriters, throw a change of time signature in every now and then and make the music interesting.

You know an album is a masterpiece when it's incredibly technical and sophisticated, but is still accessible and enjoyable. A blend of African, Eastern, traditional/folk, and Jazz that comes together just perfectly.

Very much a gateway album for me. It's instantly accessible, even with the strange time signatures used throughout, it just sounds cool. There's not been many hit songs in 5/4, but Time Out is more than just Take 5, I probably prefer Blue Rondo à La Turk, but there's not a dud on the album. If you're not sure about Jazz, give this a listen and then go Hard Bop and Free Jazz, just like me! 5 / 5 stars.

08/27/2022 This album is very special to me for a number of reasons. Take Five was the first jazz recording that I ever heard back in third grade when my elementary school did a program called music memory. We were played sound bytes of different famous recordings and this was one of them. I have loved this recording since 2007-2008. Nearly 15 years of love. Fast forward to the future, I fell in love with the entire album after working at my university’s radio station that played jazz in the afternoons. I was the DJ for the 3-5 hour on Mondays or Wednesdays. Became familiar w many more songs and the style of Dave brubeck’s players because of this. — Today was super chill, I finally got to run some errands. Ran to target, had a great time getting lunch stuff and other little fun items. Came back and made myself a nice lil dinner and then just watched Netflix and crocheted.

Shimmers in its understated brilliance, popular this may have been but this in no way detracts from its status as high art. The recording is exquisite, the sophistication in the playing extraordinary. An album to repeat and find new things or to just enjoy and absorb, Time Out is special.

Relaxing, classic jazz. Steady percussion, smooth brass, instrumental jazz.

I'm not a jazz aficionado by any stretch, but I know what I like. I like this album and now know it belongs to the cool jazz genre. Cool.

Automatic fiver here. Love Dave Brubeck, and this has some of his most signature classics. Opening with "Blue Rondo a la Turk" is enough to let you know you're in for a great ride. I think Brubeck's the pianist, but man, shoutout to whoever is on sax because the sax cuts through these tracks like a hot knife through butter. For me, this is quintessential smooth jazz. I'll always be reminded of that Malcolm in the Middle episode where Hal finds the old bomb shelter in the backyard and hides down there drinking scotch, talking to a portrait of JFK, and listening to "Take Five." Love, love, love it. Favorite tracks: Take Five, Blue Rondo a la Turk, Strange Meadow Lark, Pick Up Sticks, basically all of it. Album art: One of the many jazz albums with the sort of "framed abstract art" concept for the cover, and I really like it. The art is excellent, the text font and colors are bold. It's simple and informative, but very memorable. 5/5

Very cool. I don’t hate jazz, I hate shrill & stressful trumpets, but the sax on this is smooth and mellow and lovely. It’s both accessible and challenging with the recognisable hooks but crazy time signatures. Good stuff.

Four profoundly talented, creative, and meticulous musicians, each making it sound effortless. I appreciate that this album is extremely accessible, but that it's does that without compromising richness and complexity. You could listen to each track 10 times in a row and still discover new fills and trills with every playthrough.

Good background music for when wacky shenanigans are afoot. Make sure to keep looking above yourself while listening to this album, because a comically oversized anvil could drop down on your head at any moment. This album has a similar feel to it as cheese. I don't mean to call it "cheesy", I mean that it literally reminds of cheese. Like, I can smell some fresh tasty gorgonzola while listening to this. Call that Synescheesia. Four outta seven!

An album that is so much more than just "Take Five". I've heard this album quite a few times. I'd say it's a great album for those that want to explore jazz a little more. Great listening and not too abstract enough to put off non-jazzers.

Wonderfully weird time signatures on some really great tunes. Very listenable.

Made somewhat cliche by time and popularity but a great record, with far more complexity and nuance than maybe it gets credit for

I'm not an active jazz fan as much as I like using it as background music for a vibe. However, with two recognizable songs "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Take Five", interesting time signatures, and an accessible cool jazz sound, this album stands out among the nameless shuffled playlists. I was shocked to see it was from the 50s, I guess jazz doesn't show its age as much as pop/rock. Also enjoyed the fun fact of the melody of "Kathy's Waltz" inspiring the Beatles' "All My Loving"

Nice background music (especially if played live) for a dinner in a candle-lit, velvet-lined, red wine & martini-serving restaurant.

my favorite album so far

A perfect jazz album. Classic.

Classic jazz. Excellent

It's unfortunate that Brubeck's skin color gave him recognition that was not afforded to his peers, but by all reports, he was an unwilling recipient of that recognition. I'm not going to hold that against him given the credit he gave to his black contemporaries. The most unfortunate part is that Brubeck and his quartet are legitimately genius. This is one of the most played jazz albums of all time for a very good reason. Without sacrificing any of the depth or richness of the genre, Time Out manages to be catchy and listenable. I can enjoy it as much with my rhythm guitarist as I can with my wife (who loves CCM and Taylor Swift with a passion I cannot understand). I'll admit that I had not listened to the full album before. Nothing jumps out more than Blue Rondo or Time Out but I loved the piano intro on Strange Meadow Lark and the rest of it was great. Easy 5 stars.

One of the few jazz records I have on vinyl. And glad I do.

The perfect jazz album

amazing

Great, cool jazz from a true visionary.

One of the very few jazz albums I’m familiar with and still a great one. Take Five is the famous track and it’s probably my favorite, but I also like Blue Rondo a lot. After a couple listens I Spotify-likes all but one track: Pick up Sticks.

incrível!

gold star.

Take Five, what a classic

Simultaneously catchy and experimental. It might be fairly tame by today's standards but for the 50s this is so unique. The sax is a major highlight throughout.

This was great! Never would have listened to it. Thanks 1001!

Easily my favourite jazz album of all time. 9.6/10 Best Tracks: “Blue Rondo à la Turk” “Take Five” “Three to Get Ready” “Kathy’s Waltz”

the BEST album you can possibly listen to while making oatmeal and stewed apples 5/5 🍎

Very suave - easy listening. Instruments complement each other well.

One of my all time favorites. Fantastic vibe all the way through.

9/8, 5/4, 3/4, 4/4.

Excellent

I'm not sure if I was in a good mood when this was playing or playing it put me in a good mood but it's good. The kind of jazz that maybe isn't as challenging as some. I think anyone could enjoy this album while also being technically brilliant. It's the kind of jazz that you might hear in a movie and someone who would never listen to jazz eats it up.

Kind of crazy to have two (maybe more!) jazz standards in one record. Blue Rondo A La Turk and Take Five are things I played in high school that my teacher assured me were something eeeeveryone knew how to play. He was right of course/ The genre obviously existed before this album, but this is such a great example of it. Everything is just so damn smooth and the performances have just enough feeling in them to not be robotic. The recording itself is excellent. I could listen to this all day.

One of the best albums ever recorded. Mixed and compound meter aside, everyone on here plays like they live in 5 and 7. Beautiful playing from Desmond, Morello's fills and drum solos are to die for, and Brubeck knows exactly what works and when. A master class of jazz, song composition, soloing, all of the above.

Jewel

Masterpiece!

This is a great Jazz album. Chill and groovy and probably more technical than my poor knowledge can handle. Take Five alone deserves 5 stars!

Great chill vibes

This is viewed as one of jazz's all-time greats for a reason!

classic jazz album, memories

The good stuff

Absolutely love this throwback!

I like jazz. Sue me!

Good jazz

I could listen to Dave Brubeck all day

Great jazz album, and one I had not heard before. So it was a nice surprise and just what I needed this morning after waking up way too early. It set such a nice chill mood during breakfast while dogsitting.

Smooth jazz

Loved the music and was even familiar with one of the songs. Sounds like New York at night :)

Classic album. One of my favorites for a long time.

No words perfect

Really comfy, and suddenly a classic showed up as well that I'd forgotten.

Banger maybe come dine with me music

We've all heard Take 5 too often to really appreciate it. Good to listen to the rest of the record and be reminded how great these guys were.

I would say that this album is perhaps the most popular and iconic Jazz record of all time. This record reminds me so much of my elder brother who unfortunately is no longer with us. Like me he was an enthusiastic music fan and I probably owe my equally love of music to his influence. But we had diverse tastes. He was a big Jazz fan this was one of his favourite records. But at that time a did not get Jazz at all. I remember having heated debates over the version of Rondo on this album and that of The Nice who were much more to my liking. When I listen to that track nowadays I must concede that I think Keith Emerson owes a lot to Dave Brubeck’s version. The big track on this album Take Five is something I bet everyone into their music are familiar with. It is a masterpiece and even the most Jazz hating critic must admire the construction, way out time signature and the fact it is an instant recognisable toe tapping tune. Over the years I have become to appreciate Jazz and take on what my brother also saw in the genre. Like many more people this will always be my favourite Jazz album. Love you Frank and thank you for the music. 5/5 25/3/25

I really like Desmond's sax tone. And loved the fact that all tunes on the album had a common "playing with time signatures" theme. Great stuff.

Absolutely the best. Read a lot of reviews about listening to jazz by the guys that invented the genre. Interestingly, I remember seeing a doc that talked about Brubeck creating music over a kid over the rhythm of water pumps on his parent's ranch as a kid. This was when he hadn't been exposed to jazz. Kid just had talent and went on to create some of the best music ever created.

* One of my favourite jazz albums

Perfect soundtrack for a Sunday drive to a vineyard lol

Proto Ffxiv battle music for track 1. Then take five was instantly recognized as "that jazz song you always hear". Hell yeah.

I just recently purchased this album on vinyl and it sounds amazing and the music is also incredible even for moderate fans of jazz.

Awesome album, the best.

Stars? Take 5

Played some of these songs in high school band class. Very cool album

So that's where all those songs come from

Even if it was just Take Five, it would be a classic, but its all great. And I am not a jazz person. Talent is talent

I needed that.

Great album. The first track my son said reminded him of Charlie Brown. He’s right about that Vince Guaraldi vibe. When “Take Five” came on it was instantly recognizable, although I realized I had never heard the whole song through. It had some interesting solos and was so nice to hear music be played in a lively sense. Seems more like a recording of an event rather than a produced product. Very refreshing listen.

The project has done it to me again! I hate jazz, so why am I giving this album five stars and adding it to my Tidal library? Perhaps it was the setting in which I listened to it, on the patio with a drink on the first balmy afternoon of a Mediterranean spring. Or maybe it was just that it caught me in the right mood at the right time. In any case, I'm not saying that this album has inured me to the pleasure of jazz, but I can certainly see myself hitting play on Time Out again and again in the future.

A classic Jazz album, can’t go wrong with this

I own this record on vinyl and I have listened to it a few times and absolutely love it. Such good grooves, awesome musicianship all around, and the funky time signatures make my brain happy. Five stars, easily.

pretty good

That was some funky ass jazz