Time Out

Pianist Dave Brubeck was one of the biggest things to hit jazz since Charlie Parker, with a large crossover audience cultivated during tours of universities. One of jazz’s most popular albums ever, this tour de force is anchored by Paul Desmond’s “Take Five” (in swinging 5/4 time) and the electrifying “Blue Rondo À la Turk,” which fuses dazzling classical chops and an assured sense of swing with Turkish folk music. Never has jazz seen a better meeting of accessible melody and sophisticated musical ideas.