"Unsquare Dance" is a musical piece written by the AmericanjazzcomposerDave Brubeck in 1961 and released as a single in the U.S. the same year. The song, featured on Brubeck's album Time Further Out, peaked at No. 93 on the U.S. Cash Box chart on December 16, 1961, and reached No. 14 on the U.K. singles chart in the summer of 1962.
Time signature
Written in time, the piece is an example of Brubeck's exploration of time signatures. According to Brubeck, it was written during a single trip from his home to the recording studio and was recorded the same day. The song is based on a blues structure but also has a distinct country and western feel, as implied in the title. "Unsquare Dance" is driven by a strong bass figure, with percussion provided primarily by the rim of the snare drum and hand claps. It combines duple and triple meter. The piano enters with descending phrases crossing the rhythm. The speed of the piece gradually increases from start to finish. The main theme then develops initially without left accompaniment and then with a characteristic figure based around the use of tenths. A drum solo using rim shots follows, then a restatement of the theme and a distinctive conclusion. Brubeck says in his liner notes:
Chart performance
"Unsquare Dance" was initially included on the albumTime Further Out, and became a hit single, peaking at No. 74 on the U.S. BillboardHot 100 and No. 14 on the U.K.'s Record Retailer chart.
It was featured, perhaps mistakenly, in the 2013 Google doodle to honor Saul Bass' 93rd birthday. Between 1975 and 1996, "Unsquare Dance" was used as the signature tune for Austria's ORF1 weekly TV magazine . "Unsquare Dance" is featured on the soundtrack of the 2012 Academy Award winning movie Silver Linings Playbook. It is played over a montage in "Hero", episode 4 in season 1 of Better Call Saul. It is featured on the soundtrack of the movie Baby Driver in a scene where the main character, Baby, is attending a criminal heist briefing playing air pianoon the table in front of him, much to the annoyance of another criminal. It is also used in the 2018 films Green Book and The Front Runner. Used in the trailer for the film Downhill
