Paul Desmond - Original Albums

- �The Sound Of A Dry Martini� on 15 original albums - Featuring his work with The Dave Brubeck Quartet, as well as with Gerry Mulligan, Jim Hall and others - Timeless music, or as Paul Desmond himself said: �I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was.�

Among Modern Jazz greats, Paul Desmond (1924 - 1977) had one of the most characteristic sounds on the alto saxophone. His clear, radiant, yet warm tone paired with a pronounced melodic lyricism led Desmond himself to compare it to a dry Martini. Born as Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California, he became world famous as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, whose biggest hit Take Five he composed. The Californian sound of the Brubeck Quartet, catchy in all its quality compared to the more aggressive East Coast Jazz, exactly matched the taste of the predominantly white college crowd of the '50s, and the quartet soon reached cult status through its Campus Concerts. The two musicians agreed that Desmond would only form �piano-less� groups for his solo projects, and so Desmond's successful studio collaboration with guitarist Jim Hall, as well as another musically outstanding quartet with the baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan came to be. If one compares the resulting albums and Desmond's recordings with Brubeck, the listener discovers the whole musical spectrum and range of expression of this fantastic musician. Desmond, who had a decidedly dry sense of humor, was not only keen on whiskey, but also a chain smoker, and unfortunately died of a lung carcinoma in 1977.