Creative Process I

This chapter provides thumbnail sketches of each composition on Time Out, informed by manuscript sources. It also includes consideration of the disposition of solos, as well as discussion of the individual quartet members’ approaches to improvisation. In addition to its formal design and rhythmic profile, the architectural features of “Blue Rondo à la Turk” include its motivic content, palette of chord types, and tonal blueprint. “Everybody’s Jumpin’ ” also is an elegantly constructed composition. “Three to Get Ready” and “Kathy’s Waltz” belong together by virtue of their position side by side and because they both involve metrical experimentation with groups of three and four beats. “Strange Meadow Lark” is the longest and most accessible cut, but it is the only number on Time Out that is not a time experiment. Its four pages of pencil sketches provide a glimpse into Brubeck’s creative process. “Take Five” and “Pick Up Sticks” are examined as well.