Paul Desmond
Overview
 
Paul Desmond born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 alto saxophonist
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...

 and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...

". He was not only one of the most popular musicians to come out of the West Coast
West coast jazz
West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...

's "cool jazz
Cool jazz
Cool is a style of modern jazz music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop style that preceded it...

" scene, but also the possessor of a legendary and idiosyncratic wit.

In addition to his work with Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

 he led several of his own groups and did significant collaborations with artists such as Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...

, Jim Hall
Jim Hall (musician)
James Stanley Hall is an American jazz guitarist.-Biography:Educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s...

 and Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...

.
Quotations

I could only write at the beach, and I kept getting sand in my typewriter.

His reason for not pursuing a literary career

I hate the way he writes. I kind of love the way he lives, though.

On writer Jack Kerouac

I have won several prizes as the world’s slowest alto player, as well as a special award in 1961 for quietness.

I think I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to sound like a dry martini.

About his distinctive light sound

I tried practicing for a few weeks and ended up playing too fast.

About the value of practice

I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was.

About his playing style

It's like living in a house where everything's painted red.

On Ornette Coleman's playing

Not for me. If I want to tune everybody out, I just take off my glasses and enjoy the haze.

On contact lenses

Sometimes I get the feeling that there are orgies going on all over New York City, and somebody says,

Let's call Desmond,' and somebody else says,'Why bother? He's probably home reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.'

Well, that I'm not playing better.

When asked by Gene Lees|Gene Lees what accounted for the melancholy in his playing

 
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