Joe Morello | Jazz drummer, 82

Legendary jazz drummer Joe Morello, 82, whose virtuosity and command of odd time signatures made him an integral part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet on such classic recordings as

Take Five

and

Blue Rondo

a la Turk,

died Saturday at his home in northern New Jersey. A cause of death was not immediately available.

"Many people consider the rhythm section of [bassist] Eugene Wright and Joe Morello in my quartet as being one of the most consistent, swinging rhythm sections in jazz," Brubeck said Sunday in a statement. "Drummers worldwide remember Joe as one of the greatest drummers we have known."

Mr. Morello's decision to join Brubeck's quartet in 1956 paved the way for the leader's experiments in unusual rhythms on a series of groundbreaking Time albums in the late 1950s and early 1960s that earned popular and critical acclaim.

"Joe was a pioneer in odd time signatures and a vital part of the Time series the Quartet made at Columbia Records," Brubeck said. "His drum solo on Take Five is still heard around the world."

Raised in Springfield, Mass., with impaired vision from birth, Mr. Morello initially studied the violin before becoming a drummer in his teens. He eventually made his way to New York, where he played with leading jazz musicians, and first came to prominence for his work as part of pianist Marian McPartland's Hickory House Trio in the 1950s.

In 1956, he turned down offers to join the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey bands to go on a temporary tour with Brubeck's quartet. At their first concert, Brubeck gave him a drum solo, and Mr. Morello ended up staying with the pianist for 12 years. He won Downbeat magazine's best drummer award for five years in a row.

He recorded more than 60 albums with the quartet, starting with Jazz Impressions of the U.S.A. and Dave Digs Disney in 1957.

After the quartet disbanded in late 1967, Mr. Morello turned to teaching and writing instructional books while making occasional solo appearances and performing with his own group in the New York area. His discography includes more than 120 albums.

- Associated Press