Chet's Version of "Take Five"...

[ajbremer]

01/18/2013 MidOklahoma

I've been working on Chet's version of "Take Five" on my classical for weeks now. I finally have memorized 'almost' all of the tune and now I'm working on the dynamics of it and that really fast riff at the end. I'm playing it on my classical and the lower bout of the guitar starts at the 12th fret so that makes those high notes up there at the 15th+ frets pretty stretchy but I'm getting it. It sure sounds like Chet recorded it using his electric and not classical. The tune is on Chet's "Alone" lp.

Paul Desmond wrote "Take Five" and first played it live in 1959. Chet did Jorge Morel's arrangement and I found a cool youtube video of Jorge and it shows him playing the beginnings of "Take Five" and it also has a quick picture of Chet showing Jorge 'a thing or two'. (At least it sure looks like Chet) Also, I believe this same video shows Jorge doing a duet with John McClellan?
Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY_nId-Yobc

I found a youtube video of a woman playing "Take Five" on Ukulele and I have never heard a Ukulele sound that great! Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tNdNFACU00

I spent time on youtube searching and listening to many versions of Take Five and a lot of them are pretty good but Chet's version sounds the greatest...I wonder why?

[the-ocean87]

Chet's version is great. But I prefer the one of Tommy Jones, which is even much harder to play and the most amazing version I've ever heard on guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U-d7dltobM