Paul Desmond › Similar Artists

Gerry Mulligan - 47% match to Paul Desmond

Gerald Joseph Mulligan, 6 April 1927, New York City, New York, USA, d. 19 January 1996, Darien, Connecticut, USA. Raised in Philadelphia, Mulligan started out on piano before concentrating on arranging. He also took up the saxophone, first the alto and a few years later the baritone. Among the name bands that used his arrangements were those led by Gene Krupa and Claude Thor Read more

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - 37% match to Paul Desmond

Jim Hall - 34% match to Paul Desmond

James Stanley Hall, 4 December 1930, Buffalo, New York, USA. While studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall made his first professional appearances playing guitar in local bands. In the mid-50s he settled on the west coast, where he continued his studies and also played with Chico Hamilton’s quintet. In 1956 he became a member of Jimmy Giuffre’s trio, the Read more

Art Pepper - 30% match to Paul Desmond

1 September 1925, Gardena, Los Angeles, California, USA, d. 15 June 1982, Panorama City, California, USA. Pepper started out on clarinet at the age of nine, switching to alto saxophone four years later. After appearing in school groups, he first played professionally with Gus Arnheim’s band. During his mid-teens he developed his jazz style sitting in with otherwise all- Read more

Dave Brubeck - 30% match to Paul Desmond

David Warren Brubeck, 6 December 1920, Concord, California, USA. Initially taught piano by his mother, Brubeck showed an immediate flair for the instrument, and was performing with local professional jazz groups throughout northern California at the age of 15 while still at high school. Enrolling at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California, as a veterinary major, h Read more

Bill Evans - 26% match to Paul Desmond

Lee Konitz - 26% match to Paul Desmond

Ike Quebec - 24% match to Paul Desmond

17 August 1918, Newark, New Jersey, USA, d. 16 January 1963, New York City, New York, USA. Quebec played piano at first, then took up the tenor saxophone in 1940. He worked in several well-known bands, including outfits led by Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and, later, Cab Calloway, with whom he stayed from 1944-51. He also led his own small groups in the 40s, r Read more

Ben Webster - 23% match to Paul Desmond

Benjamin Francis Webster, 27 March 1909, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, d. 20 September 1973, Amsterdam, Netherlands. After studying violin and piano, and beginning his professional career on the latter instrument, Webster took up the tenor saxophone around 1930. He quickly became adept on this instrument; within a year he was playing with Bennie Moten and later worked with And Read more

Stan Getz - 23% match to Paul Desmond

2 February 1927, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 6 June 1991, Malibu, California, USA. Getz played several reed instruments as a child, especially the alto saxophone, but he finally chose the tenor saxophone and by the age of 15 was playing professionally. Within a year he had made his first records, playing with Jack Teagarden, who became, technically at least, Getz Read more

Scott Hamilton - 22% match to Paul Desmond

12 September 1954, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. As a child, Hamilton began playing clarinet, on which he had a few lessons, and piano. He then briefly played blues harmonica in a rock ‘n’ roll band. He took up tenor saxophone as a young teenager, teaching himself largely by listening to records in his father’s collection. These records were by jazzmen of the Read more

Benny Golson - 21% match to Paul Desmond

25 January 1929, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. After receiving tuition on the piano as a child, Golson began playing tenor saxophone professionally in 1951 in Bullmoose Jackson’s R&B band. It was here that he first met Tadd Dameron, who had a great influence upon his writing. In the early and mid-50s he played in bands led by Dameron, Lionel Hampton and Earl Bost Read more

Chet Baker - 21% match to Paul Desmond

Chesney Henry Baker, 23 December 1929, Yale, Oklahoma, USA, d. 13 May 1988, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. One of the more lyrical of the early post-war trumpeters, Baker’s fragile sound epitomized the so-called ‘cool’ school of white west coast musicians who dominated the American jazz scene of the 50s.Baker studied music while in the arm Read more

Warne Marsh - 21% match to Paul Desmond

Zoot Sims - 21% match to Paul Desmond

John Haley Sims, 29 October 1925, Inglewood, California, USA, d. 23 March 1985, New York City, New York, USA. Sims played clarinet in grade school but took up the tenor saxophone to work with singer Kenny Baker in 1941. He played with Bobby Sherwood from 1942-43, Sonny Durham in 1943 and the Benny Goodman big band in 1944. His recording debut was with Joe Bushkin’s smal Read more