they were going out of their way
Factors
I think that Joe Morello made a very good point when he said that one cannot judge whether a song is going to be a hit or not. If someone would find out the secret to making hits, everybody would be driving in Rolls-Royces, Morello said one time during an NPR radio interview. While this probably true, I think that in retrospect, I can point out a few factors which surely helped Take Five to become a big hit. Again, these are my own views, so it's quite possible that you as a reader will have doubts about my opinion, or you might even disagree. This is of course only good, the only thing I ask of you is to mail me about that. In this way, I can alter the text, and include your name in the credits. One big thing I'm learning at Leiden University is that I should never take written things for granted, but always take a critical look at them. I ask of you to do the same for me.
I'll explain a couple of factors which I think contributed to the popularity of Take Five. These are as follows:
- The sounds
- The rhythm
- The key signature
- The bridge
- 'Repetitiveness'
- Timing
The Sounds
The first impression you get from people, music, paintings, sculptures, etc., is a very strong one. That first impression will linger, and it plays a big role in making the decision whether you like the person and music, or not. I can't recall the moment I heard Take Five for the first time, but I do recall that the sound of Joe Morello's drums in the opening bars made a big impression on me, and it has haunted me ever since. Mentioning 'drums' nowadays brings up images of someone trying his or her utmost to break, or at least seriously injure the snare drum, while setting the hi-hat on fire by opening and closing it much faster than a hi-hat is supposed to, and attempting to throw the earth out of its trajectory by applying a lot of force to the bass drum, which will send waves of pure energy straight down to the earth's core. While this drumming is very good in its own right, and I must admit that I have some cds on which this happens, Morello's drumming on Take Five is of a different caliber. Morello's technique can easily be called an art-form in itself, and to put it quite bluntly, the drums in the opening bars of Take Five just sound very, very nice.
I think they will immediately capture the listener's attention, and because the drums start in 5/4 time right away, it's very recognizable from the start. A good proof of this is a recording of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the 25th Anniversary Reunion. When the band starts playing Take Five, only Morello is playing and after the first measure which is just Morello on his drums, the audience starts clapping because they recognized the song right away. Talk about a musical signature! The drums on the original recording sound so very smooth and soft, it's very relaxing and I think this surely helped making Take Five popular. Also during the drum solo, Morello never starts playing too loud, and I think this is one of the reasons why non-jazz listeners kept up with it. I often hear people say that they think jazz is too much plinkety-plonk, and yes, what a word that is, and that they can't stand to listen to it, because it sounds like everyone is just doing something randomly. This doesn't happen in Take Five, as we will see again in the 'Repetitiveness' part. In my opinion, this has also helped making Take Five popular with a lot of people, including those who would normally not listen to jazz.
After the first four measures, Dave Brubeck starts playing the piano. As mentioned before, he doesn't do much more than play a constant vamp-figure in 5/4 time, in order to keep time, for Morello and the listener alike. This vamp-figure has become, even more so than Morello's drumming, a musical signature of great importance. When asked whether they know the song Take Five or not, a lot of people will say that they have never heard of it. As soon as they hear Brubeck playing that vamp, a lot of them will say "Oh that song!" Where Morello's drums are immediately recognizable to the more hardcore fans, Brubeck's piano rings a lot of bells for a lot of people. This is especially true in Japan. There, the song has been used as background music for some tv-commercials, and when people hear the piano, they will immediately recognize the song. Recognition is, I believe, one factor that can make a song popular with a lot of people. Not only is the piano recognizable, it also sounds very nice. I have always thought that Brubeck's touch was somewhat different than other jazz-piano players. While Brubeck has always stood out from the crowd because of his intricate harmonizations, using polytonality a lot, this can't be exactly true for Take Five, seeing he doesn't use any special harmonizations or chords in this song. Still, the piano is played with that unmistakable Brubeck touch, creating a very warm and rich sound. The piano might be the most famous part of Take Five, and it is surely one of the reasons why the song became so popular and such a big seller. Also, the piano never gets annoying, even though it loops every 3 seconds or so. Accessibility is the key word here. Accessibility, even to the untrained ear.
Four measures after Brubeck starts playing the piano, Wright kicks in with his bass, on the 4th and 5th beats, and then he falls into a repeating figure of playing notes on the 1st, 4th and 5th beats. Wright's bass is also invaluable when it comes to keeping track of time. The sound of the bass is round and warm, and very pleasant to listen to, but I don't think this will have had a big influence on the success of Take Five.
After Morello, Brubeck and Wright set the pace for the song, Paul Desmond kicks in on his alto. And that's when I always realize what a beautiful sound just four people can produce, granted they are given the proper musical instruments and ability to play them correctly. And boy, could Desmond play his sax. What I always liked about Desmond's sound, was that it was never too piercing. Instead of that, he tried to keep the sound as smooth as possible, creating a very warm sound. Desmond once told an interviewer that he wanted the saxophone to sound like the musical equivalent of a dry martini, and the general concensus is that he just about succeeded in that. People who wouldn't listen to jazz still loved the sound of Desmond's sax, since it was so accessible, and it never became 'irritating' or nervous.
People loved the sound of the Dave Brubeck Quartet on Take Five. The combination of the smooth drums, the warm piano, the subtle bass and the flowing saxophone were, and still are, very relaxing to listen to, which is according to me one major factor why Take Five became a hit.
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