Using odd time signatures (hence the title), Dave Brubeck's 'Time Out' was an unconventional experiment that was at first perceived as a failure. The critics hated it or, more accurately, couldn't fathom it. Nor could its initial audience, but word of mouth quickly spread and it soon became one of the definitive jazz albums after it went platinum. Eventually, it became the first instrumental jazz album to sell over a million copies.
The time signatures aren't just odd; they actually change speeds mid-song. The result is jarring, making you actively listen to the free-flowing music spill over itself and back again. Somehow, it still swings and Brubeck manages to make his piano play in two keys at once. To hear 'Time Out' is to hear music evolving and questioning itself - a fitting addition to the cool jazz genre.
