Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out

Analogue Productions and Quality Record Pressings present the definitive Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

First time reissued as a gatefold jacket, with rare black and white photos from the Columbia Studios recording session. Heavy-duty chipboard shell stock by Stoughton Printing

180-gram, double LP set cut at 45 RPM by Bernie Grundman and pressed at Quality Record Pressings

"The results speak for themselves: the platters from QRP are in my experience the most consistently flat and quiet being pressed today ... at least for the foreseeable here and now, Analogue Productions' newly mastered 45 RPM (Brubeck) is the edition to own. You'll hear it right from the familiar piano intro to "Blue Rondo a la Turk," where Brubeck's playing seems richer, more lyrical, more rhythmically alive. It seems to me that as our gear gets ever more quiet, these QRP LPs continue to wring more musical nuance from the finest recordings." — Music = 5/5; Sound = 5/5 — Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, January 2013.

“I've now heard a number of LPs from Quality Record Pressings (QRP), Chad Kassem's year-and-a-half-old record-pressing plant. Before Time Out, I would have said that some positive trends were apparent from the earlier LPs I've heard. However, this current pressing is so much better than those that came before it, which were certainly very good, that it's obvious things have improved considerably over the past year. It's a positive sign when the noise floor is defined by the hiss of the master tape, not the quality of the pressing or vinyl, and that's the case here. Having heard many, many Pallas and RTI pressings, the main competition for QRP, I would say that QRP pressings combine the strengths of both its competitors: the very low surface noise and bottom-of-the-groove quiet of Pallas LPs and the sharp delineation of musical detail of RTI." — Sound = 4.5/5; Music = 5/5 — Marc Mickelson, The Audio Beat, August 2012

Virtually all serious and even casual music lovers ought to be familiar with, or at least are likely to have heard The Dave Brubeck Quartet, even without realizing it — for the quartet's best-known hit "Take Five" has graced the soundtracks of multiple films, including "Mighty Aphrodite," "Pleasantville" and "Constantine."

The piece is famous for its distinctive, catchy saxophone melody, as well as its use of unusual 5/4 time — so distinctive, it's a rare jazz track that became a pop hit.

Including the monster hit "Take Five," the Brubeck Quartet's Time Out is a jazz and audiophile classic. Every album collection needs a copy. And now, cut at 45 RPM on 180-gram premium vinyl, pressed at Quality Record Pressings (Acoustic Sounds' own industry-lauded LP manufacturer), Analogue Productions brings you the definitive copy.

Why definitive? The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. But it's more than just the vinyl that makes this release so special. For the first time in its history, Time Out is presented here packaged in a deluxe gatefold jacket. Inside are eight fantastic black and white images shot during the recording session at Columbia's famous 30th Street Studios. Sony Music supplied the images for use in our SACD reissue, and gave us persmission to use them in our LP reissue as well.

The jacket is also special — very heavy-duty. It's produced for us by Stoughton Printing featuring a printed wrap mounted to a heavyweight chipboard shell, producing an authentic "old school" look and feel. This jacket is a beauty! Never has Time Out's colorful iconic cover art looked so vibrant.

The record label's sales executives didn't want a painting on the cover when Time Out debuted in 1959 on Columbia Records, Brubeck told an interviewer.  An entire album of originals? That wouldn't work either, he was told. Some standards and some show tunes were needed in the mix. Fortunately, Brubeck ignored the conventional wisdom and Time Out became the original classic we know it as today. Brubeck became proof that creative jazz and popular success can go together.

The album was intended as an experiment using musical styles Brubeck discovered abroad while on a United States Department of State-sponsored tour of Eurasia. In Turkey, he observed a group of street musicians performing a traditional Turkish folk song that was played in 9/8 time, a rare meter for Western music.

Paul Desmond, who was Brubeck's alto saxophonist, wrote "Take Five," at Brubeck's urging to try and write a song in quintuple (5/4) time. 

"I told Paul to put a melody over (drummer) Joe Morello's beat," Brubeck explained. As a jazz pianist, Brubeck became a household name in jazz in part due to Time Out's success. Demond's cool-toned alto and quick wit fit in well with Brubeck's often heavy chording and experimental playing. Morello and bassist Gene Wright completed the group. The Quartet traveled and performed constantly around the world until breaking up in 1967 to pursue other musical ventures.

Time Out peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard pop albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. "Take Five" became a mainstream hit, reaching No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 5 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey, the precursor to today's Adult Contemporary charts. The song was included in countless movies and television soundtracks and still receives significant radio play.

Musicians:
Dave Brubeck, piano
Paul Desmond, alto saxophone
Joe Morello, drums
Gene Wright, bass