Paul Desmond Biography
Paul Emil Breitenfeld, 25 November 1924, San Francisco, California, USA, d. 30 May 1977, New York City, New York, USA. Alto saxophonist Desmond is best known as a member of the Dave Brubeck quartet, in which he played from 1951-67 and to whose popular success he greatly contributed by writing the hit "Take Five". However, aficionados and critics alike agree that much of his best work was done away from Brubeck's often stiff improvisations and tricky time signatures, in particular on two albums with Gerry Mulligan (Blues In Time, Two Of A Mind) and five with Jim Hall (East Of The Sun, Bossa Antigua, Glad To Be Unhappy, Take Ten, Easy Living), which Mosaic Records later reissued in one of their splendidly packaged box sets.
Influenced by Lee Konitz, but very much his own man, Desmond's pure tone and fluid, inventive solos - into which he often wove witty quotes from other songs - marked him out as one of modern jazz's most original and distinctive voices. A noted humorist too, he once declared his aim was to make his saxophone "sound like a dry martini" and also claimed to have won prizes as "the world's slowest alto player". In fact, Desmond's pellucid tone and relaxed, floating style required an architect's sense of structure and the lightning reflexes of a master improviser. In the late 60s/early 70s he sometimes sounded out of place on the CTI Records label, amid fusion, strings, Simon And Garfunkel songs and the other accoutrements of Creed Taylor's production. A 1971 session with the Modern Jazz Quartet, and two albums from a 1975 concert with his own quartet, caught him back at his best. In 1975 he also recorded a set of duets with Brubeck and rejoined the pianist's quartet for a reunion tour. In 1976 his doctor diagnosed lung cancer - "I only went with swollen feet," Desmond wryly remarked - and he died the following May. Desmond is remembered as one of the most literate, amusing and reflective of jazzmen.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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