Three to Get Ready was composed by Dave Brubeck in 1959 and first recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for the album Time Out on Columbia Records. The title references the children's counting rhyme one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go, which mirrors the composition's central rhythmic device: alternating between two bars of 3/4 waltz time and two bars of 4/4. This metric shifting gives the piece a playful, swinging quality that belies its structural ingenuity, making it approachable for listeners while still embodying the album's spirit of rhythmic experimentation. The melody has a lighthearted, almost Haydn-like charm, written in C major with an accessible feel that contrasts with the more overtly complex pieces on Time Out. The tune was first performed publicly on June 2, 1959, in Oakland as part of the material being prepared for the album sessions at Columbia's 30th Street Studio. On the original recording featured in AllSolos, Paul Desmond delivers a characteristically witty alto saxophone solo that navigates the shifting meters with ease, and Brubeck's piano solo demonstrates his ability to make the unconventional feel natural. French singer Claude Nougaro later adapted the tune as Jazz et Java, which became a hit in France. While overshadowed by Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk from the same album, Three to Get Ready is valued by listeners as a rhythmically inventive and melodically appealing composition from one of jazz's landmark recordings.
