Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz musician who played the alto saxophone and wrote music. He supported the cool jazz style and was part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He wrote the group’s most famous song, "Take Five," which is still the best-selling jazz song ever.
In addition to working with Brubeck, Desmond led his own musical groups and worked with other musicians, including Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Jim Hall, and Ed Bickert. After many years of smoking heavily and having health problems, Desmond died from lung cancer in 1977 following a tour with Brubeck.
Early life
Desmond was born Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California, in 1924. He was the son of Shirley (née King) and Emil Aron Breitenfeld. His grandfather, Sigmund Breitenfeld, was a medical doctor born on November 17, 1857, in Kameničky, Eastern Bohemia. Sigmund moved to the United States in 1885 and married Hermina Lewy in New York on May 2, 1886. They had four children, including Emil, who was Paul Emil’s father. Paul Desmond and members of his father’s family often wondered if Sigmund or Hermina Breitenfeld had Jewish backgrounds, but they did not identify as Jewish or follow Jewish traditions. However, Fred Barton, a songwriter and Desmond’s cousin, found proof from family history records that both the Breitenfeld and Löwy families were Bohemian Jews. The Breitenfeld family in Bohemia and Vienna had musicians in every generation from the 1800s through today. Desmond’s mother, Shirley King, was from an Irish Catholic family.
Desmond’s father, Emil Breitenfeld, was a pianist, organist, arranger, and composer. He played music for silent films in movie theaters and created musical arrangements for printed publications and live performances. During World War I, while training with the 17th New York Regiment in Plattsburgh, New York, he wrote a song called The Last Long Mile, which became well known among soldiers.
Desmond’s mother, Shirley, had mental health challenges throughout his childhood, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and other conditions. From 1933 to 1938, Desmond lived with relatives in New Rochelle, New York, because of his mother’s health issues.
Desmond began playing the clarinet at age 12 and continued during his time at San Francisco Polytechnic High School. While in high school, he wanted to learn the violin, but his father discouraged him, saying violin players were common and warned that they might struggle financially. During high school, Desmond also showed talent for writing and became co-editor of his school newspaper. He had the chance to interview comedian Bob Hope when the comedian visited San Francisco. After graduating, Desmond enrolled at San Francisco State College, where he studied English. In college, he started playing the alto saxophone, influenced by musicians like Lester Young and Charlie Parker. In his first year of college, Desmond was drafted into the United States Army and joined the Army band in San Francisco. He served for three years, but his unit was not sent to war.
After leaving the military, Paul Emil Breitenfeld legally changed his last name to Desmond in 1946. He shared many stories about how he chose the name, but his biographer, Doug Ramsey, reported that a friend, Hal Strack, said Desmond and he were listening to singer Johnny Desmond of the Glenn Miller band in 1942. Desmond told Strack, “that’s such a great name. It’s so smooth and yet it’s uncommon. If I ever decide I need another name, it’s going to be Desmond.”
Desmond was married to Duane Reeves Lamon from 1947 to 1949. He did not marry anyone else after that.
Career
After World War II, Paul Desmond began working in the San Francisco Bay Area as a backing musician. He occasionally played with Dave Brubeck at the Geary Cellar in San Francisco. For several weeks, he led a small jazz group at the Band Box in Redwood City, which included Brubeck. Desmond had a disagreement with Brubeck when he left the Band Box and stopped Brubeck from taking over the residency. In 1950, Desmond joined the band of Jack Fina and toured with him for several months. However, he returned to California after hearing Brubeck's trio on the radio and deciding to repair his relationship with Brubeck and join his growing band.
At the time, Brubeck and his wife, Iola, had three young children. Brubeck had told Iola not to let Desmond visit their home. One day, Desmond showed up at Brubeck's San Francisco apartment while Dave was outside hanging diapers on a laundry line. Iola, going against Brubeck's wishes, let Desmond in and brought him to Dave. Desmond offered to help with arranging and administrative work for Brubeck's band and to babysit Brubeck's children. Eventually, Brubeck agreed to work with Desmond again.
Some people called Desmond "the stork" because he would stand on one leg and lean on the piano. This was how he played when he was performing well. What frightened others was that when he played, his eyes would look very intense, with only the whites showing.
Desmond met Dave Brubeck in 1944 during their military service. Brubeck was trying out for the 253rd Army band, which Desmond was already part of. After Brubeck passed the audition, he was sent overseas to Europe in 1944, while Desmond remained in the United States. Desmond once told Marian McPartland of National Public Radio's Piano Jazz that he was surprised by the complex chord changes Brubeck used during their 1944 audition. After Desmond convinced Brubeck to hire him following his time with Jack Fina, they created a contract. Brubeck signed it alone, and it included rules that prevented Brubeck from firing Desmond, confirmed Brubeck's role as group leader, and gave Desmond 20% of all profits from the quartet. This formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which existed from 1951 until December 1967.
The quartet became very popular with college students. They performed at colleges, including their famous 1953 album Jazz at Oberlin at Oberlin College and at Ohio University and the University of Michigan. Their success led to a 1954 article in Time magazine, which featured Brubeck's face on the cover.
After drummer Joe Dodge left the group, Joe Morello joined in late 1956, recommended by Desmond. However, differences in musical goals caused tension between Desmond and Morello for many years. Desmond preferred a drummer who played in a specific style, while Morello wanted to be highlighted in performances. During Morello's first performance with the group, Brubeck introduced him, and the audience applauded his solo. Desmond was upset and threatened to leave the group. Brubeck managed to keep both Desmond and Morello in the group, but they had conflicts for years. Desmond's resentment toward Morello was noticeable in their performances. For example, during their 1958 performance of Take The 'A' Train in Hanover, Germany, Desmond played with little energy and sometimes stopped playing for a few bars after Morello's complex rhythms. Later, they reconciled and became close friends.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet performed until 1967, when Brubeck shifted his focus from performing to composing and ended the group. In the 1970s, Desmond joined Brubeck for several reunion tours, including "Two Generations of Brubeck." Brubeck's sons, Chris, Dan, and Darius Brubeck, joined them on these tours. In 1976, Desmond played 25 shows in 25 nights with Brubeck, touring the United States by bus.
Desmond worked with baritone saxophonist and band leader Gerry Mulligan multiple times. They recorded two studio albums together: Gerry Mulligan – Paul Desmond Quartet (1957) and Two of a Mind (1962). In June 1969, Desmond appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival with Mulligan, receiving positive feedback from critics and audiences. During Brubeck's "Two Generations" tours, Desmond and Mulligan performed together in 1974. Unlike Brubeck, Mulligan shared many interests and traits with Desmond, including a sense of humor and a tendency toward addiction.
Desmond had a successful studio partnership with guitarist Jim Hall. Hall played on several of Desmond's albums recorded between 1959 and 1963 for Warner Bros. and RCA Victor. In 1971, Hall asked Desmond to perform at the Half Note club in New York City. Desmond joked that he accepted the job only because he lived nearby and could walk to work easily. The two continued to play at the club to full audiences. Desmond also joined the Modern Jazz Quartet for a Christmas concert in 1971 at the New York Town Hall.
Desmond was a guest artist on five tracks by Chet Baker recorded between 1975 and 1977. These tracks were released on the albums She Was Too Good to Me (CTI, 1974), You Can't Go Home Again, and *
Personal life
Dave Brubeck and his family had a close relationship with Paul Desmond, even though the two men had very different personalities. Darius Brubeck, Dave’s son, remembered thinking of Desmond as his uncle until he was almost a teenager. Desmond was especially close to Dave’s son, Michael, and gave him his saxophone when he died. Some people described Desmond as someone who had many romantic relationships with women but did not form or keep long-term relationships with them. He had many female friends throughout his life. Desmond once joked, upon seeing a former girlfriend on the street, “There she goes, not with a whim but a banker,” a play on a line from T.S. Eliot’s poem “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.” In contrast, Dave Brubeck was deeply religious and focused on his family.
He received awards for being the slowest alto saxophonist and a special recognition in 1961 for being very quiet.
Desmond enjoyed reading books by writers of his time, such as Timothy Leary and Jack Kerouac, who supported the use of recreational drugs. He sometimes used LSD. He had several addictions, including Dewar’s Scotch whisky and Pall Mall cigarettes. In the 1940s and 1950s, he often used amphetamines, and in the 1970s, he used cocaine. His drug use sometimes made him feel tired during performances. Clarinetist Perry Robinson wrote in his autobiography that Desmond sometimes needed a vitamin B12 shot to perform during his later career.
He was described as someone who lived fully and healthily, often drinking Dewar’s whisky.
Desmond died on May 30, 1977, from lung cancer caused by long-term heavy smoking, not from his alcohol use. He was 52 years old. Even while facing illness, he remained humorous, expressing happiness about his healthy liver after being diagnosed with cancer. His final concert was with Brubeck in February 1977 in New York City. His fans did not know about his poor health. In his will, Desmond left all money from the song “Take Five” to the Red Cross after his death. He owned a Baldwin grand piano, which he lent to Bradley Cunningham, owner of Bradley’s piano bar in Greenwich Village. Cunningham was required to return the piano to Desmond’s apartment, where it would become part of his estate. After this process, Desmond gave the piano to Cunningham as a final joke. The Paul Desmond Papers (and other collections related to Brubeck) are stored at the Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives in the University of the Pacific Library.
Desmond was cremated, and his ashes were scattered.
Style
Desmond played the alto saxophone with a light, musical sound, aiming to create a tone he described as "like a dry martini." His playing style, which was similar to that of Lee Konitz, one of his influences, helped him become a well-known saxophonist from the West Coast's cool school of jazz. The classic Brubeck quartet's success was largely because of the contrast between Desmond's smooth, airy style and Brubeck's more complex, heavy piano playing.
Desmond's improvisations are admired for their clear structure and musical beauty. His skill in creating improvised counterpoint is best seen on his two albums with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, titled Mulligan-Desmond Quartet and Two of a Mind. Desmond was also known for his ability to play very high notes, called the altissimo register, on his saxophone.
Desmond used a Selmer Super Balanced Action model alto saxophone and an M. C. Gregory model 4A-18M hard rubber mouthpiece, both from around 1951. He played with a moderately stiff Rico 3 ½ reed.