MY NORTHERN SKIES

Hello, welcome to the My Northern Skies website, home of my two weekly radio shows, which alternate here each week, The Jazz File every Tuesday (8pm) and Flick the Dust Off every Friday (10am).

Featured Album | 408

Dave Brubeck Quartet | Time Out/Time Further Out | CBS 22120 | 1976

“Take Five” might well be the only familiar tune in the entire Modern Jazz catalogue to some, Paul Desmond’s composition having enjoyed much radio play in its day and continues to be a firm favourite to many still. Its quirky 5/4 time signature went on to influence a myriad of subsequent compositions, from such diverse artists as Nick Drake (“Riverman”), Radiohead (“15 Step”), Pentangle (“Light Flight”) and even the ‘Mission Impossible’ theme by the late Lalo Schifrin. Despite the edited version being released as a single in 1959 with “Blue Rondo a la Turk” on the flip side, it’s the fully realised, almost improvisational version on Brubeck’s ‘Time Out’ LP that makes its mark on the jazz world. Coming in at five and a half minutes, the arrangement features a lengthy drum solo, which because of its time signature, surprisingly keeps the customer satisfied throughout. Coupled with Brubeck’s later release ‘Time Further Out’, the two albums make perfect bedfellows with this mid-1970s release, complete with its abstract artwork courtesy of both S. Neil Fujita and Joan Miró. ‘Time Further Out’ continues to explore the 5/4 time signature with “Far More Blue” and “Far More Drums”, both composed by Brubeck, rather than Desmond, with other explorations in time being “Maori Blues” (6/4) and “Blue Shadows in the Street (9/8), with “Charles Matthew Hallelujah” settling for something as straightforward as 4/4. Essential for all jazz collections.

Playlist:

Dance of the Night Child – Carmell Jones (Jay Hawk Talk)

Take Five – Dave Brubeck Quartet (Time Out/Time Further Out)

Bweebida Bwobbida – Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Recorded in Boston at Storyville)

Blues for Bouffemont – Bud Powell (The Invisible Cage)

Fiesta – Philly Joe Jones (Blues for Dracula)

Tambu – Cal Tjader (Cal’s Pals)

It’s a Raggy Waltz – Dave Brubeck Quartet (Time Out/Time Further Out)

Oleo – Joe Harriott (Abstract)