Desmond

Twenty-nine years ago this weekend, Paul Desmond bid his girl friend goodbye as she set off for London, urging her to have a good holiday. That was on Friday. He would be fine, he told her; he had friends coming the next day. But his only companion was the lung cancer that had ravaged him during the past year. His housekeeper found him dead on Monday, Memorial Day. Marian McPartland said, “It’s just like Paul to slip quietly away when everyone’s out of town, not to bother anybody.” Details of his passing—and his life—are in this book.

In a coincidence for which I am grateful, this morning I received a message guiding me to a newly discovered video clip of Paul playing “Take Five.” It was made at Lincoln Center in 1972 in a concert reuniting him with Dave Brubeck. Alan Dawson is the drummer, Jack Six the bassist. Unlike most of the videos of Desmond that pop up here and there, this one is in color. It lingers after the piece ends while Paul bows and thanks the audience. I have watched it three times. I gave up hard liquor many years ago, but I am going watch the clip once more tonight, make a toast and have a sip of Dewars. If you would like to join me, go here.