Time Further Out: Hear the Meter and Keep Miró’s Art Open

Time Further Out rewards a listener who wants to follow rhythm as a sequence of choices. The original nine-track LP arranges the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s pieces by changing meter, beginning with two compositions in 3/4 and ending with Blue Shadows in the Street in 9/8, according to a documented reissue. Joan Miró’s painting on the cover supplies another way into the program. A scholarly study connects the painting and music while cautioning that the artwork does not provide a final key to interpreting the sound.

Keep Time Further Out separate from Time Out

The similar names are easy to confuse in a store, streaming library or search result. Time Out is the earlier album; Time Further Out is a later nine-track program subtitled Miró Reflections. A seller may also offer a package combining Time Out with Time Further Out. Check the track list and selected product before buying. The Not Now product page, for example, describes a two-album set and displays each album under its own heading.

A digital version can contain a different number of selections from the original LP. Apple Music currently lists an 11-song Time Further Out release. That is useful evidence about that service’s album entry; it does not establish that the original LP had eleven tracks. If your aim is a vinyl copy of the original program, compare the nine-title sequence with the item offered. If you want extra material, inspect what those extra tracks are rather than assuming the platform’s count matches a physical edition.

Follow the quartet rather than counting every beat

The cover prints numbers associated with the compositions’ meters. Brubeck’s liner notes, quoted in the Cambridge University Press study, connect those numbers with the music while describing the artwork’s broader relationship to his approach. Start with It’s a Raggy Waltz and Bluette, both identified as 3/4 on the Pro-Ject listing. Tap a steady pulse and notice how each measure groups into three. You do not need to label every accent to hear that the motion differs from a four-beat march.

Then compare the opening pair with Blue Shadows in the Street, which the same product documentation identifies as 9/8. Rather than forcing the piece into a familiar count, listen for a recurring larger pulse and the way the quartet settles into it. The goal is to notice a change in rhythmic organization, not to pass a meter exam. If you lose the pulse, return to the opening and count out loud for one short passage before listening without counting.

Make a small listening worksheet

For each track, write three things: the meter shown in the specific edition’s documentation, the instrument you followed, and whether the pulse felt familiar or newly grouped. Begin with the first pair and the final track. If you become curious, fill in the middle selections afterward. This keeps the experiment manageable and gives you a basis for discussing the record with someone who knows music theory or with another new listener.

Do not infer a meter from a song title alone. Check the album artwork, liner notes or a reliable release description. Some online databases present the list in abbreviated or inconsistent forms, and an expanded edition may place bonus material after the original program. The Pro-Ject pressing page documents one sold-out edition and its track descriptions; use it for those details rather than as a current buying recommendation or universal mastering claim.

The original quartet includes Brubeck on piano, Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Eugene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums. Follow one player through the meter changes. Morello’s beat may help you locate a pulse; Wright’s bass can give you a stable reference; Desmond’s melodic line may move freely against the measure. These are listening prompts, not strict descriptions of every bar. Return to the track and see which instrument makes the structure easiest for you to hear.

Let the artwork frame, not dictate, the listening

The Cambridge study identifies the cover image as Miró’s 1925 Painting and discusses how the abstract art relates to the album’s visual presentation of rhythm. Brubeck’s liner notes, as quoted there, connect the numbers on the painting with the time signatures. He also describes a broader association between the painting’s movement and his own musical approach. That is the composer’s interpretation within the liner notes, not proof that every abstract shape represents a specific sound.

Try listening once with the cover nearby and once without looking at it. Write down whether the image changes what you notice, then compare that response with the study’s argument. You can value both interpretations without forcing a one-to-one code between a shape and a musical phrase. This gives the album a distinctive connection to visual art while leaving the quartet’s music open to direct listening.

Choose an edition that matches your purpose

If you want the original sequence, verify all nine titles and the side arrangement on the physical release. If you want a digital version with bonus material, confirm the extra tracks and how they are identified. If you care about a named mastering, require product-specific documentation. Pro-Ject’s description of its own sold-out pressing lists analog-master provenance and RTI pressing; that evidence applies to that product listing only, not every release of Time Further Out.

For a used copy, ask for label photographs and the catalog number, then compare the item with a release entry that matches its country and format. A Miró cover can identify the album concept; it does not alone identify an original issue. Likewise, a copyright date or the word “audiophile” does not confirm a specific source. Keep the artwork, program and manufacturing claims as separate checks.

Continue with one clear comparison

After listening, note which meter change was easiest to follow and which track you want to replay. You might compare the opening 3/4 pair with the final 9/8 track or follow the piano across several compositions. A single observation makes a more useful next step than a broad claim that the record is “complex.” It can guide you toward another Brubeck “Time” album if you want more rhythmic exploration.

If you compare editions, use the same track and passage. Confirm that both copies contain the same performance and version, set a similar playback level, and write down any recurring physical defect separately from musical preference. The collection guide on this site explains a general purchasing workflow; this article gives you an album-specific way to hear the rhythmic sequence before adding another Brubeck issue to your shelf.