[1][2][3][4] Take Ten was the first small-group jazz album Desmond released as a solo artist under a contract with RCA records.

His initial RCA releases were an album featuring him alongside a string orchestra (1961's Desmond Blue), and a small-group session co-lead with Gerry Mulligan (1962's Two of a Mind).

With Take Ten, Desmond continued a partnership with guitarist Jim Hall that had begun with the 1959 quartet album First Place Again for Warner Bros. records.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet (featuring Desmond) recorded Bossa Nova U.S.A. in the fall of 1962, following the popularity of "Desafinado".

Allmusic awarded the album 4½ stars stating "There is not a single track here that isn't loaded with ingeniously worked out, always melodic ideas".