Rodrigo y Gabriela is an acoustic guitar duo known for blending flamenco music with heavy rock music. The group’s 2006 self-titled album featured a cover of Metallica’s “Orion” as well as a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” both performed on nylon-string guitars. They even performed a Metallica medley at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with the band’s bassist, Robert Trujillo.
However, they also have a soft spot for jazz, which also came early in their career. Here we’re checking out their amazing version of the jazz standard “Take Five.” The band explained the funny story of how it got into their repertoire in the video’s description:
“After playing thrash metal in Mexico City, we decided to quit the band and our jobs and go to Ixtapa on the Pacific coast of Mexico,” Rodrigo y Gabriela write. “There, we exchanged our electric guitars for two acoustic guitars and went looking for a job. The first move was to offer an acoustic set to all the hotels, but all of them said no, then we found a tiny place, an Italian restaurant that said yes, so, out of our metal repertoire, we also managed to play a funky version of ‘Take Five.’ After that, we took ‘Take Five’ with us to Europe, to the streets of Dublin, Denmark, and Spain, and then to countless venues around the world. It’s not a track that we play in every tour, far from it. In fact, it is more like an old friend that we visit once in a while.”
“Take Five” is probably the world’s best-known song in quintuple meter, or 5/4. Its title is taken from its odd time signature as well as the colloquialism to take a break, which is reinforced by its cool jazz style. It first appeared on the 1959 album “Time Out” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and although it initially gained popularity as a sleeper hit, it went on to become the best-selling jazz single of all time.
The song was written by saxophonist Paul Desmond after a challenge by drummer Joe Morello to compose a piece in 5/4. Any jazz musician can tell you it’s a highly requested song, but it can be quite tricky to perform, let alone solo over.
Clearly, Rodrigo y Gabriela knew what to do with it. While the original is in Eb minor, the duo transposes it up a half step to E minor to better suit the guitar’s tuning. Their version retains the smooth texture of the original, thanks to their mellow-sounding instruments, but things heat up quickly.
After the melody, Rodrigo takes a thoughtful solo over the vamp, which alternates between E minor 7 and B minor 7 chords. Gabriela then takes her own impassioned, percussive solo, utilizing the strings, fingerboard, and body to create exciting rhythms. Finally, they put their own stamp on the song by stretching out the solo chord structure and adding an A minor chord.
The jam builds to an explosive climax, followed by the duo bringing the dynamics all the way back down to play the melody out.
Watch their incredible take and follow along with the sheet music to make your own arrangement:
