Take Five is a jazz standard written by Paul Desmond and performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. It was recorded on July 1, 1959 and released as a promotional single on September 21, 1959 from the Time Out album. The tune is written in quintuple time (5/4) and built around a distinctive two-chord vamp (E flat minor to B flat minor seven) in ABA form, featuring a cool jazz sax melody and a drum solo. The title refers to the unusual five beat groove and the common expression take five meaning a short break. It became a sleeper hit in 1961, rising on radio and charts worldwide and later becoming the biggest selling jazz single of all time, with the track inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and covered by many artists.
