Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

This week, “Blue Rondo a la Turk” by The Dave Brubeck Quartet:

Dave Brubeck died this week, at the age of 91.  “Blue Rondo a la Turk” is the opening track of his quartet’s 1959 album, Time Out, which is no doubt his most famous.  My friend’s dad played it so much after buying it in 1959 that he wore the grooves on the record out and had to buy another copy.  “Blue Rondo a la Turk” has a little bit of everything: hectic, busy rhythms repeating themselves across the instruments, some slow, “yeah, jazz man, jazz” lounge jazz, and great interplay between the two different modes; add to that a 9/8 time signature and the big build to the bass drum-thump ending, and you’ve got a record that more than one person is going to wear down to smooth vinyl.